NORTH COAST, Calif. – This week, Logan Silva, a history instructor at Mendocino College and teacher at Potter Valley Jr./Sr. High School, is at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., to attend a weeklong professional development seminar entitled “The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass.”

Led by renowned Historian David Blight of Yale University, the rigorous seminar explores Frederick Douglass’s life (1818-1895) and writings across the 19th century.

It will assess his biography, which will examine both his public and private life and why he became the most photographed American of the nineteenth century.

“I love teaching here [Mendocino College], and I love working with students here. The amazing instructors challenged me and made me who I am. Last year I attended a Gilder Lehrman seminar on Native American history at Dartmouth College. It changed my life, and I plan on bringing my experience this summer back to my students,” said Silva.

Silva joins 1,000 other educators and National Park Service interpreters – representing 48 states and the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and an Armed Forces Americas School, as well as Australia, the Dominican Republic, Russia, South Africa and Taiwan – who were selected in a competitive process by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education, the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.