History
Bryan & Jordan Consulting has the individual and collective experience, the professional network, and the track record to ensure your success. Our firm is unusual in that we bring strong scholarly credentials and significant experience directing museums and historical organizations of various sizes, and have held key positions in the business sector.
Bryan & Jordan opened its doors in 2008 when Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr. and Dr. Daniel P. Jordan joined forces to develop a firm that represented their ideals to serve the history community in a way that was good and right. Since then, we have assisted more than one hundred and fifty clients with enthusiasm, dedication, and nuanced perspective that makes our firm the holistic solution for successful outcomes.
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We at Bryan & Jordan know that finding the right consultant to assist you is a choice not to be taken lightly. That’s why we offer free telephone consultations to walk you through your needs, the scope of your goals, and your budget.
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Consultants
Meredith Handakas, Managing Partner
Meredith Handakas has been with Bryan & Jordan Consulting, LLC, for fifteen years and has served as its Managing Partner since 2021. Meredith assists with board development, executive search, strategic planning, SWOT Analysis, and feasibility studies. Before joining Bryan & Jordan, Meredith had a key role at a charitable trust and was executive director of two small nonprofit organizations. She spent ten years working for an international printing company in her early career. She then gained proficiency in executive searches as an Executive Recruiter for Bostonian Personnel and ADS Financial Services Solutions. Her demonstrated strength is in guiding institutions through periods of leadership change and strategic redefinition.
Michael Quinn, Partner
Michael C. Quinn joined B&J in early 2019, with broad experience in historical non-profit leadership, and hands-on expertise and success in fundraising, board development, and organizational management. He stepped down as founding President and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia in late 2018, and previously served as President and CEO of James Madison’s Montpelier and as Deputy Director of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. In his leadership positions, Mike has overseen the creation of innovative interpretive and educational programs, directed the complete restoration of Montpelier, and managed the construction and creation of a new 120,000 square foot museum in Philadelphia, which included growing its staff from 5 to over 100. He has raised over $250 million in major fundraising campaigns. He is currently on the boards of the Museum of the American Revolution (as Pres. Emeritus), the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, the Satell Institute, and Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest.
David Crosson, partner
David Crosson has specialized in giving birth to new museums and bringing others through periods of rapid change. He was the founding director of two institutions and has opened three new museums. Since joining Bryan & Jordan in 2012, David has participated in successful executive searches, strategic planning efforts, and a facilities reserve fund study. His leadership expertise includes children's museums, academic special collections, historic sites and house museums, state historical societies and agencies, historic preservation, and capital campaigns. David's special passion is a commitment to share institutional ownership with non-traditional community partners to address contemporary social conditions and issues. David has served in leadership positions with a variety of national professional organizations, including the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and a term as chair of the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH).
Lacy Ward Jr., Senior associate
Lacy Ward Jr. has nearly 30 years of experience as a public historian working in federal, educational, and non-profit institutions. As founding director of the Robert Russa Moton Museum in Farmville, Virginia, he oversaw the installation of the award-winning “The Moton School Story: Children of Courage” permanent exhibit. The exhibit tells the story of school integration in Prince Edward County, from the county’s inclusion in “Brown v. Board” through its five-year period of school closings to reopening and integration. Lacy’s talent is in leading organizations to confront difficult history and institute culturally informed community engagement. Lacy is a strategic thinker and a nurturer of organizations’ growth and development.
Our Founders
Charles F. Bryan, Jr. Ph.D.
Dr. Charles Bryan co-founded Bryan & Jordan Consulting, LLC in 2008 after a thirty-year career as a public historian. Charlie is President Emeritus of the Virginia Historical Society. During his twenty year tenure, he oversaw capital campaigns that raised more than $110 million, which resulted in quadrupling the size of the museum and a significant expansion of programs and services statewide and beyond. Charlie is past president of the American Association for State and Local History and of the Independent Research Libraries Association. Charlie has written two important books on the Civil War and is a columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
IN MEMORIAM
Daniel P. Jordan, Ph.D.
Dr. Daniel P. Jordan co-founded Bryan & Jordan Consulting, LLC in 2008 after twenty-four years as CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates Monticello. During that time, Dan established a fundraising program that raised $215 million, started an endowment from scratch that is now over $200 million and published three scholarly monographs. His impressive list of board service and chairmanships includes the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the United States Secretary of the Interior's Advisory Board for the National Park System, the Curator of the United States Senate, and the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.