Meet the Team

Ramin Ganeshram, Executive Director
E-mail: executivedirector@westporthistory.org

Ramin Ganeshram, serves as the Executive Director of the Westport Museum since 2018. In recognition for her work as curator of the Museum’s 2018-19 exhibit, Remembered: The History of African Americans in Westport, Ganeshram received the prestigious award for Leadership in the Museum Field from the New England Museum Association (NEMA). Remembered won awards of merit from the Connecticut League of History Associations (CLHO) and the coveted Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). In 2019, Ganeshram was also awarded the Paul Cuffee Memorial Fellowship for the For the Study of Minorities in American Maritime History. Ramin is a research Fellow at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon.

Under Ganeshram’s leadership, the Museum has partnered closely with organizations focused on BIPOC cultural movements. With her at its helm, the Museum has been recognized by museum-industry leaders and by Connecticut Humanities (an arm of the National Endowment for the Humanities) as a standard-bearer for how small to midrange museums can truthfully and faithfully address American history around race and identity — particularly relating to slavery and civil rights. Prior to her role at the Museum, Ganeshram was an award-winning journalist who holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

A noted foodways historian Ramin is the author of more than ten books. Her forthcoming books include Coal Pots & King Cane: Caribbean Cuisine and the Creation of America (UNC Press) and Stirring Liberty: How George Washington’s Enslaved Chef Transformed American Cuisine and Secretly Cooked His Way to Freedom (Simon & Schuster/37 Ink). Ramin is the recognized expert on the life of Hercules Posey, the chef enslaved by George and Martha Washington.

Image credit Jerri Graham

Michele Rubin, Education & Development Director
Email: EdDevDirector@westporthistory.org
Phone: 203-222-1424

Michele Rubin has a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College and an MA from The University of Washington, both in English. A publishing industry executive, she worked for 25 years as a literary agent, representing a wide range of writing and genres, including award-winning historians.

She was the Literary Agent for the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr. for over 20 years. Working with the MLK Estate, she helped co-found the King Legacy Imprint at Beacon Press. She has spoken on King and other topics at conferences, schools, and universities. She has been the U.S. Editorial Director of a UK editorial consultancy for the last decade. Michele grew up in Westport, and her family has lived here since 1970. 

​​​​​Michele is dedicated to the Museum’s mission of bringing our full history to the widest audience possible and showing that each and every one of us has a story that matters. Westport’s history is part of our shared national story, and Michele is committed to keeping that history alive. In her role as Director of Education and Development, she is working to create programming and outreach that resonates with the community and partner with businesses, institutions, individuals, and organizations to support and sustain the Museum’s work and engagement.  

Claire Menard, Associate Program Director
Email: programming@westporthistory.org
Phone: 203-222-1424 Ext: 4

Claire Menard is the Associate Program Director at the Westport Museum. Claire earned her B.A. in History from Macalester College, where she minored in Japanese and Anthropology and was awarded the J. Huntley Dupre Prize in European History for her senior capstone, “Chastity, Consumerism and Corsetry in the Victorian Era.” Initially a volunteer at the Westport Museum, Claire designed the Museum’s first-ever escape room and has continued to work on every Museum escape room since. Previously with the Museum as Programs Manager, Claire returned in 2025 as Associate Program Director. Claire helps to plan and execute programs, design exhibits, conduct research, and manage volunteers.