Identifier
NFAI.E.00000614

Preferred Name
Michelle Stefano

Library of Congress Naming Authority
Stefano, Michelle L. [info:lc/authorities/names/no2012110743]

Biography/History
Michelle L. Stefano is the Program Coordinator of Maryland Traditions, as well as the Folklorist-in-Residence within the American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She was awarded her PhD in Cultural and Heritage Studies from the International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies (ICCHS) at Newcastle University in 2010.  She received her MA in International Museum Studies from Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden and a BA in Art History, as well as another in the Visual Arts, from Brown University, Providence, USA. For her work with Maryland Traditions, Dr. Stefano has been involved with the identification, documentation and promotion of several living cultural traditions within Maryland, such as the Singing and Praying Bands of the Chesapeake tidewater region, occupational folklife of Sparrows Point Steel Mill and its communities, Welsh living traditions in Northern Harford County and the Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack. She edited the volume, Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (2012) and has produced several short films on living traditions in Maryland in partnership with the UMBC New Media Studio.