Speakers Bureau
Bring the history of Southwest Florida to you with the Collier County Museums Speakers Bureau! The Collier County Museums are home to a passionate group of museum professionals who possess extensive knowledge on a variety of topics about our region’s history and culture. We look forward to sharing our love and knowledge of Collier County with you.
Collier County Museums Speakers Bureau lectures are perfect for your organization, community, club, or class. Lectures are typically 45 minutes to 1 hour in length. They are available for free, although donations via check made out to the Collier County Museums are gratefully accepted. A minimum of 1 month notice before your preferred lecture date is required. While we cannot guarantee that your preferred date can be accommodated, we are happy to work with you to find alternatives.
Thomas Lockyear, Museum of the Everglades Manager
Thomas Lockyear has been a museum professional for over two decades, having served as curator of the Key West Shipwreck Treasures Museum and at Historic Pigeon Key, as well as Executive Director of the History of Diving Museum in Islamorada before accepting his current position as Manager of Museum of the Everglades in Everglades City.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison (BS Art), Mr. Lockyear also holds a master’s degree from Florida Gulf Coast University (MA Ed).
- A Brief History of Everglades City
- The Train, the Trail, and the Origins of Florida Tourism
- Legends & Lore of the Everglades
- Dredges, Dynamite, & Determination — The Building of the Tamiami Trail
- Barron Collier's International Vision
- The Trailblazers
- Trading Posts of South Florida
- Engines in the Everglades: How Men Modified Machines to Tame the Swamp & more!
To schedule Thomas Lockyear, please complete this form.
Helen Midney, Immokalee Pioneer Museum Manager
Helen Midney is the museum manager for the Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch.
She received her Bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College in Maine. After working as an educator, college access counselor and environmental interpreter, she went on to earn her Master’s degree in Environmental Studies with a focus in Education from Florida Gulf Coast University. Helen is a resident of Immokalee and loves sharing her community and its history with locals and visitors alike.
- A Brief History of Immokalee
- Cattle Ranching and Florida
- Gardening and Agriculture in Southwest Florida, from the Pioneer Days to the Present
- Immokalee as a Model for Community Organizing and Social Justice
- Lake Trafford Past and Present
To schedule Helen Midney, please complete this form.
Lisa Marciano, Naples Depot Museum Manager
Lisa Marciano has grown up frequenting museums and historic sites throughout her adolescence. Her love of history and historic structures eventually transformed into a career and for the last 17 years she has worked with Collier County Museums in many capacities such as volunteer, Museum Assistant and Museum Manager. Lisa is currently the Museum Manager at the Naples Depot Museum.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Sociology/Anthropology and a master’s degree in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University. Lisa is also a long-term resident of Collier County and appreciates our local history.
- Railroading’s Finest Hour: The History of the Naples Depot
- Sites & Scenes: Collier County’s Historic Places
- Rising Above the Rails: The African American Experience
- Naples-on-the-Golf
- End of the Line-The Budd Tavern Journey
- Motors & Mud- Swamp Buggy Culture & more!
To schedule Lisa Marciano, please complete this form.
Rebecca Mazeroski, Marco Island Historical Museum Manager
Rebecca Mazeroski is the Museum Manager for the Marco Island Historical Museum since 2020.
She has an MBA in Museum Exhibition Planning from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She has previously worked with the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Interpret Green Design Studio, The Clay Studio, and The Yager Museum.
- Camera Girl: Saloma Olds’ Marco Island
- Tommie Barfield: Queen of Marco
- Women Who Shaped Collier County
- Pioneer Gardens: What Marco Island Residents Grew, 1870s – 1950s
- Marco Before the Mackles – Indigenous and Pioneer History of Marco Island
- Stories from Marco on the Move
To schedule Rebecca Mazeroski, please complete this form.