Hi, I’m Joan Ilacqua.
I wear a lot of hats. I’m a public historian, a community archivist, an oral historian, and an executive director. I preserve and share the stories of underdocumented communities.
History is for everyone, I work to ensure that historians tell all stories - not just stories of the most privileged among us. 🌈
About me.
I’m Joan, and I’m a professional lesbian in Boston. I am passionate about collecting and sharing queer stories to connect the generations of queer people who fought for our rights, our visibility, and our lives. Through my work collecting oral histories, preserving archival records, and sharing personal stories, my entire career has been about ensuring that communities that have been on the margins of history are centered. I connect our past to the ongoing fight for equality for all.
I’m the Executive Director of The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston. I serve on the Boston 400th Anniversary Commemoration Commission and the Community Archives Collaborative Steering Committee. I served as the inaugural Archivist for Diversity and Inclusion at Harvard Medical School, on the New England Archivists’ Inclusion and Diversity Committee, and the Massachusetts State Historic Records Advisory Board.
I earned my master’s degree in Public History from UMass Boston and my BA in History and Sculpture from the University of Puget Sound.
In my spare time, I design subversive cross-stitch patterns and read queer romance novels with my wife, Sarah, and our two cats, Tony and Tina. ✨