RESEARCH & ARCHIVE PAGE
The QTS proposal moved quickly through land negotiations, nondisclosure agreements, utility discussions, cooperation agreements, annexation planning, and public meetings. The historical archive was designed to bring scattered materials into one usable record.
This work treated public records and personal testimony as complementary forms of evidence. Meeting minutes can establish what happened on paper. Oral histories reveal what people saw, feared, misunderstood, and carried with them afterward.
Building the QTS / NDCD Historical Archive
Description
I created and improved an organizational system for materials related to the QTS proposal and the No Data Center DeForest campaign. The archive includes public records, zoning and annexation materials, meeting notes, oral histories, campaign documents, media coverage, policy research, and narrative drafts.
My Role
I identified missing materials, grouped files by event and key figure, built a timeline, designed interview questions, indexed interviews, and linked records to emerging narrative scenes.
Skills Demonstrated
Archival research · Source verification · Project organization · Public-records analysis · Historical writing · Information management
QTS Proposal Timeline: From Rumor to Withdrawal
Description
I developed a factual and bureaucratic timeline to track the QTS proposal from early land negotiations through the withdrawal announcement and final Village Board action. The timeline compares developer activity, municipal process, and grassroots response.
My Role
I gathered dates from meeting minutes, public records, interview transcripts, campaign materials, developer documents, and media coverage. I used the timeline to verify scenes, identify gaps, and place individual memories in a larger historical sequence.
Skills Demonstrated
Timeline development · Historical research · Source verification · Critical thinking · Public-policy analysis