Our Staff
Joshua Clegg Caffery, Director
josh.caffery@louisiana.edu
337.482.6027
Dr. Caffery is a celebrated poet and scholar and a Grammy-nominated musician and producer. As a champion of Louisiana's traditional music and culture, Dr. Caffery has been a leader in South Louisiana's musical and cultural ecosystem for over two decades. Read more about some of Caffery's recent work here.
Rachel L. Doherty, Assistant Director for Programming and Special Projects
Rachel.doherty@louisiana.edu
Dr. Rachel Doherty is a scholar of contemporary Francophone art, literature, and creolized identities in Louisiana and Canada. She is an alumna of UL Lafayette's Francophone Studies program, a former lecturer at UL and Université Sainte-Anne, and a former French immersion teacher. Dr. Doherty specializes in occult and magical lore in minority Francophone literatures and arts, and analyzes folklore's place in today's language and identity movements.
Mary Karnath Duhé, Head of Production for University of Louisiana Press
mak3695@louisiana.edu
337.482.6027
Mary Karnath Duhé has been with the Center as a production and editorial assistant for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press since 2012. She is an alumnus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in history in 2009 and Master of Arts in public history in 2011. Duhé utilizes her experience in research and writing with her background in art and design to facilitate in the editing, layout, and design of UL Press publications.
Linda Garber, Administrative Coordinator
l.garber@louisiana.edu
337.482.6027
A Broussard, Louisiana, native, Linda Garber joined the Center for Louisiana Studies in November 2004. Her current post as Administrative Coordinator requires her to work closely with the Center’s director as well as most people’s first point of contact with the Center. She also serves as editorial assistant for Louisiana History journal. She earned an associate degree in General Studies from the University of Southwestern Louisiana while employed in various administrative and managerial capacities in the oilfield.
Devon Lord, Editor In Chief for University of Louisiana Press
devon.lord@louisiana.edu
337.482.6350
Devon Lord holds an MA from Georgetown University in Global, International, and Comparative History and a BA in from the University of Texas in History. She joined the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press in the fall of 2019. Previously, she worked for Gibbs Smith Publisher in Salt Lake City, Utah, focusing on social studies textbooks for elementary and middle grades. She has also worked for the State Department and Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
Somer Greer, Sales and Marketing Manager for University of Louisiana Press
songmuang.greer@louisiana.edu
337.482.1163
Somer Greer comes to the UL Press from Baltimore with a background in academic marketing. He earned writing degrees from Florida State University and Johns Hopkins University.
Christopher Segura, Archivist
c.segura@louisiana.edu
Chris Segura started at the Center for Louisiana Studies as an undergraduate intern in 2004 and became Archivist in 2011. He graduated from UL Lafayette with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in 2008. He co-founded the Grammy-nominated band Feufollet and is a member of the Lafayette Rhythm Devis and the Grammy-nominated Pine Leaf Boys. Chris has an extensive knowledge of the local music repertoire and musicians from years past. He has digitized thousands of hours of reel-to-reel, VHS, audio cassettes, U-matic and Beta video tapes, records, and DATs, according to IASA standards. He oversees all audio digitization projects taking place at the CLS. He has produced five albums composed of archive material for Festivals Acadiens et Creoles, a world famous festival held in Lafayette, Louisiana. Segura also builds and restores violins in his spare time.
John Sharp, Assistant Director for Research
johnsharp@louisiana.edu
John "Pudd" Sharp joined the Center staff in 2009, becoming Assistant Director for Research in 2012. An Alabama native, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Auburn University and a Masters of Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is a documentary filmmaker and folklorist. Sharp has implemented several field research projects, serves as the primary contact for the Center for Louisiana Studies Archives, writes grants, works with film and video restoration and digitization, and hosts Center for Louisiana Studies events. He is a member of Executive Committee of the Louisiana Folklife Commission since 2016, and served as Treasurer of the Louisiana Folklore Society from 2011 until 2022.