Nicole Brown

As the Bray School Lab’s Graduate Assistant, Nicole Brown works directly with the Lab Director and the student volunteers who support the Lab’s research and engagement projects. A Ph.D. candidate in American Studies, Nicole received her MA in American Studies from William & Mary in 2022. She has conducted research trips to the University of Oxford and Lambeth Palace Library to study the topics of religion, education, and slavery in Colonial Virginia, and her ongoing study of the Bray Associates and Black literacy in American history is a primary focus of her current research.

In addition to her work with the Lab, Nicole is a public historian specializing in performing, researching, and interpreting women in Virginia from 1750 to 1820. She has performed at various historical and cultural sites, such as Monticello, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and the New York Historical Society. Currently, Nicole portrays Ann Wager for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. As the White teacher of the Williamsburg Bray School, Ann Wager’s role in the relationship between religion, slavery, and education is the center of her programming.