Our People
Contact Us
(+931) 265-2555
tdmoore@pvamu.edu
Hours of Operation
MON – FRI: 9:00AM – 5PM
SAT – SUN: CLOSED
Location
Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab
G. R. Woolfolk Building, Room 103
Prairie View, Texas 77446
Zha'mauri Howard Team Leader & Student Archivist
Zha’Mauri Howard is the lead student archivist and Digital Media Strategist at the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab (WDPL). Since joining the lab in Fall 2025, he has developed expertise in archival processing, digitization, metadata creation, digital preservation, and public history while contributing to the preservation of historically significant African American collections.
Howard has assisted with the preparation of a Determination of Eligibility (DOE) submitted to the Texas Historical Commission in support of the National Register of Historic Places nomination for Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Hempstead, Texas. He has digitized and created metadata for the Bethlehem United Methodist Church Collection, the Dorothy Anderson Carter Collection, and multiple volumes of The Griot, the academic journal of the Southern Conference on African American Studies. He also processed and prepared the finding aid for The Griot Collection, helping improve long-term access to one of the university’s most important scholarly publications.
His work further includes recording lectures during Black History Month 2026, transcribing more than thirty audio recordings for the PVAMU Historic Audio Recordings Collection, and establishing Prairie View A&M University’s first born-digital archival collection. Howard presented his archival research at the 2026 Prairie View A&M University Student Research Day, where he showcased his work preserving The Griot Collection.
In Summer 2026, Howard was selected for the “Digitizing Black Environmental History & Community Archives” internship through PVAMU’s Gulf Scholars Program, where he continues to expand his skills in archival preservation, digital humanities, and community-engaged historical research. Through his work with the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab, he is helping preserve African American history while preparing for a career in archives, public history, and digital preservation.
Ma'Nya Velasquez Digital Media Strategist
Ma’Nya Velasquez is a sophomore at Prairie View A&M University and serves as a Digital Media Strategist with the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab (WDPL). Since joining the lab in Fall 2025, she has contributed to the preservation and accessibility of Prairie View A&M University’s scholarly and institutional history through digitization, digital preservation, and public history initiatives.
Velasquez has digitized and prepared more than fifty historic volumes of The Griot, Prairie View A&M University’s academic journal, for digital publication in the university’s Digital Commons repository. Her work includes producing high-quality digital surrogates and supporting the long-term preservation and online accessibility of one of the institution’s most significant scholarly publications.
In addition to her archival work, Velasquez presented a research poster at the 2026 Prairie View A&M University Student Research Day, highlighting her contributions to preserving The Griot Collection. Through her work with the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab, she is developing professional experience in digital archives, scholarly communication, and the stewardship of African American history while preparing for a career in digital preservation and public history.
Evelyn Todd Former RISE Graduate Research Assistant
Evelyn Todd served as a Graduate Research Assistant with the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab (WDPL) at Prairie View A&M University from Summer 2023 through December 2025, where she specialized in archival processing, digital preservation, oral history, and public history. During her tenure, she became one of the lab’s most accomplished student researchers, making significant contributions to the preservation and interpretation of African American historical collections across Texas.
Todd processed and prepared eight archival finding aids for the Texas Black Cooperative Extension and Home Demonstration (CE&HD) Collection and digitized more than 1,500 historic photographs while creating descriptive metadata to improve long-term preservation and public access. She also conducted six oral history interviews documenting community knowledge of Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery, transcribed twelve historic audio recordings, and prepared transcriptions of four nineteenth-century probate records belonging to the Jared Ellison Kirby family, expanding access to important genealogical and community history resources.
Her scholarship extended beyond archival preservation to public interpretation. Todd developed and published five digital exhibitions highlighting African American history and co-authored a peer-reviewed article published in The Griot. Her research excellence was recognized through five Prairie View A&M University Research Initiative for Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Graduate Research Assistant awards and her selection as a Texas Historical Commission Preservation Scholar during Summer 2025.
Todd completed her Master of Business Administration degree in December 2025 and was subsequently hired as a historical consultant for Dabney Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Inc. through the Texas Freedom Colonies Project Outsider Preservation Initiative, where she continues to apply her expertise in archival preservation, historical research, and community-engaged public history.
She is currently serving as Producer and Director of the forthcoming Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab documentary, “Sleep, O Brave One, in Glory’s Field”: The Reasons Why We Do Not Walk on the Grass at PVAMU (anticipated Fall 2026). The documentary explores the historical roots of Prairie View A&M University’s longstanding tradition of not walking on the grass by examining the university’s location on the former Alta Vista Plantation, where enslaved people labored, and many were buried in unmarked graves. It also investigates how generations of students transformed the campus landscape into a sacred space of collective memory by remaining on the sidewalks as an act of respect for forgotten ancestors and members of the Prairie View community, including student-athlete Abner A. Davis.
Jacob Boisrand Digital Media Strategist
Jacob Boisrand is a freshman at Prairie View A&M University and serves as a Digital Media Strategist with the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab (WDPL). Since joining the lab in Summer 2026, he has contributed to the preservation of Prairie View A&M University’s institutional history through archival transcription and digital preservation initiatives.
Boisrand has transcribed more than a dozen historical audio recordings from the PVAMU Historic Audio Recordings Collection, helping transform audiovisual materials into searchable, accessible research resources. His work supports the long-term preservation of the university’s historical record while making firsthand accounts and institutional memories more readily available to students, faculty, researchers, and the broader public.
Through his work with the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab, Boisrand is gaining hands-on experience in archival practice, digital humanities, and public history while developing the research and technical skills needed to preserve and interpret African American history and cultural heritage.
Archival Assistants From June 2022 to May 2023
Lindsay Boknight
Noah Jackson
Hannah Harden
Zynitra Durham
Caleb Brookins
Malachi McMahon
Kalayah Jammer
Kennedy Jackson
Hollie Brown
Briana Johnson
Kiliyana Williams
Jaylynn Brantley
Kendall Douglass
Allena Preston
D'Asia Johnson
Kasedi Eason
DeZhane Johnson
Dena Miles
project director
Dr. T. DeWayne Moore
assistant professor of history in the division of social sciences
Dr. Moore is Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab (WDPL) at Prairie View A&M University, where he develops community-engaged approaches to archival preservation, public history, digital humanities, and African American historical recovery. Through the WDPL, he has built one of the university’s most active preservation initiatives by securing external grant funding, establishing digital preservation infrastructure, supervising undergraduate and graduate student researchers, and creating sustainable workflows for archival processing, oral history, born-digital preservation, and public interpretation. His work has resulted in the preservation of major archival collections, the creation of dozens of archival finding aids and digital exhibitions, the preparation of National Register documentation, and collaborative preservation projects with churches, descendant communities, historical organizations, and local governments throughout Texas and the Mississippi Delta.
Moore’s scholarship examines African American history, Reconstruction, historic preservation, community archives, memory, and the politics of historical erasure. His publications have appeared in The Public Historian, Southern Cultures, Public History Weekly, The Southwestern Archivist, Living Blues, and The Griot, and he is the author of a forthcoming book chapter with Texas Tech University Press. His current research focuses on the histories of Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery, Prairie View A&M University, Black Cooperative Extension and Home Demonstration work in Texas, and the use of artificial intelligence and digital preservation technologies to expand access to historically marginalized collections. Through the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab, he seeks to build sustainable preservation infrastructure while preparing the next generation of historians, archivists, and public humanities professionals through collaborative, community-centered research.