The D&L Blog

If you follow us on social media you may have already heard the good news, but DLNHC welcomed two new individuals to our team this month! Welcome to Charles Stonewall and Cyan Fink!

Charles Stonewall has been hired as DLNHC’s new Trails and Conservation Associate. This is a new position to provide support to the Trails and Conservation Department. Charles will be assisting with our various volunteer programs like Trail Tenders and Adopt-A-Section, as well as providing support for Get Your Tail on the Trail, Lehigh Valley Greenways, Visually Speaking, and more.

By profession, Charles is a fine art photographer who enjoys depicting pictures of solidarity, spirituality, affliction, hope, and social justice themes. He’s already started lending his skills to the DLNHC, assisting with photography and documentation at the annual Lehigh Valley Greenways Retreat.

Born and raised in Easton, PA, Charles began his career in Allentown as an industrial photographer with the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, now known as PPL Electric Utilities. Eventually, he moved to Kansas City, MO, to pursue further opportunities, earning his B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and his M.A. in Studio Art from the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Charles has exhibited his photographs at numerous venues, including Lafayette College, Muhlenberg College, Cedar Crest College, Moravian College, Kutztown University, and the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. His work has been featured in publications such as the Theatre Design & Technology Journal, the Black & White photography magazine, Kansas City’s Urban Times Magazine, the American Indian College Fund Annual Report, and the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art’s new book, Shifting Time: African American Artists, 2020-2021.

Two of his photographs can be seen to the left. Charles states that, “the two abstract images reflect my view(s) of nature and how I see myself in a healthy environment.”

In the Museum & Education Department, Cyan Fink has been hired as the new Inventory Coordinator, a grant funded position through the National Endowment for the Humanities. This position helps DLNHC inventory pieces at our Museum Support Center, “Spruce and Raspberry.”

“I’m looking forward to discovering some treasures at Spruce,” says Cyan. “There are so many neat objects, photos, and documents just waiting to be gone through. I hope everyone else enjoys seeing them on Museum Mondays too.” Museum Mondays are posted every Monday the National Canal Museum Facebook page to show unique and interesting finds with a bit of history from the Museum Support Center.

Cyan graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a bachelor’s degree in History in December 2018. It was during her time there that she discovered her passion for labor history and wrote her senior thesis on Child Labor laws in Pennsylvania.

Cyan actually started her career at Lower Saucon Township Historical Society as a volunteer in 2013, and was then hired in 2016 as an office manager but has done a variety of jobs there. She also worked at Lehigh Valley Heritage Musuem for five years where she helped people search for their genealogy and worked extensively in their collections and archives. She also spent her summers giving tours at Lock Ridge Furnace in Alburtis and where she grew to love David Thomas and anthracite furnaces.  

Cyan is currently attending Clarion, now known as PennWest, for her Master’s in Library and Information Science and will graduate in May 2023.  

In her free time, Cyan loves spending time with her family and friends and going on adventures with them. She also has two cats, Oddie and Gritty, and about 50 various cactuses and succulents. She enjoys reading, photography, painting, and watching The Office for the 1,000th time. 

For More information about staff and the Board of Directors at DLNHC, visit the Our Team page!