Speaker Biography

Ramin Ganeshram, is an award-winning journalist and historian who is currently the Executive Director of the Westport Museum for History & Culture (formerly Westport Historical Society) in Westport, Connecticut. Ganeshram’s area of study is colonial-era American history, particularly focused on enslaved African Americans and mixed-race people. She is the recognized author on Hercules Posey, the chef enslaved by George Washington and the author of a forthcoming biography about his life to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2027.

Ganeshram has been widely recognized for evolving the 137-year-old Westport Museum toward an inclusive interpretation of local history as part of the larger American story by focusing on diverse narratives. In recognition for her work as curator of Westport 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).

Ganeshram is a current and 2022/23 Fellow at the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. A professionally trained chef and author of over ten books about cookery and food history, Ganeshram holds a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of journalism and a bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University. In 2023, she was the guest chef at HCS gala awards dinner featuring a menu and talk honoring Chef Hercules Posey.