Mayflower Experts
Plimoth Patuxet Museums’ experts offer rich historical context and insights that bring any Mayflower story to life. Interviews may be arranged by contacting Erika Neenan at eneenan@plimoth.org
Our Team of Experts
Tom Begley, Executive Director
Tom Begley serves as Executive Director of Plimoth Patuxet Museums. A passionate historian and longtime member of the Museum’s senior leadership team, he has been integral in shaping major projects and advancing new initiatives over the past decade, helping to refine how public history is interpreted for the Museum’s ever-evolving audiences. Notably, Begley edited the first facsimile edition since 1906 of Governor William Bradford’s Of Plimoth Plantation, one of Massachusetts’ greatest treasures.
Expertise: Mayflower II, Plimoth Patuxet Museums’ organizational history, public history, museum education, Plymouth Colony
Captain Whit Perry, Kenneth Shaw Safe Jr, Director, Maritime Preservation and Operations
Whit Perry, Captain of Mayflower II, brings more than 30 years of experience working with wooden boats and led the award-winning restoration project of Mayflower II in partnership with Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. Before joining the team at Plimoth Patuxet Museums, he worked with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, where he maintained and operated three square-rigged vessels. Perry has an extensive background in sailing, with voyages spanning the North Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean. Over the course of his career, he has commanded a wide range of vessels—from small catboats to square-riggers, schooners, and sloops.
Expertise: Sailing tall ships, historic ship preservation, wood boat building and maintenance
Don Heminitz, Bosun/Marine Repair Supervisor, Mayflower II
Don Heminitz has over a decade of experience in maritime preservation, restoration and interpretation. As a Maritime Artisan for Plimoth Patuxet Museums, Don was instrumental in the restoration of Mayflower II at Mystic Seaport Museum, in Mystic, Connecticut. Don worked for three years helping to build a completely new sailing rig for the ship under Mystic Seaport’s master rigger. Don has since become ship's Bosun and Maritime Repair Supervisor, and continues to work with his shipmates on the upkeep of Mayflower II. In August of 2025, Don led the effort to bend on sail and get her fully rigged for underway training and inspections in Cape Cod Bay.
Expertise: Maritime preservation, historic boat restoration, rigging, 17th-century maritime life
Kim VanWormer, Deputy Director of Education & Public Engagement
Kim VanWormer began her more than 30-year career at Plimoth Patuxet Museums as a historical performer, an experience that continues to inform her deep commitment to immersive, inquiry-based education. Over the course of her tenure, she has led a number of high-profile initiatives, including development of the first iteration of the acclaimed online interactive game You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving, and fostering major collaborations with Scholastic Magazine. In her current role as Deputy Director of Education & Public Engagement, VanWormer shapes the strategic direction of the Education Department and is responsible for the development, implementation, management, and evaluation of programming and exhibits across the Museum’s living history sites.
Expertise: Museum education, 17th-century lifeways, living history interpretation, public history, 1620 Mayflower story
Richard Pickering, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Historian
Richard Pickering is Plimoth Patuxet’s lead media correspondent. He recently led the development of The Light Here Kindled – a series of short films exploring the faith of the Pilgrims. With four decades of experience at Plimoth Patuxet, Pickering is an expert on the 1621 Harvest Feast known as the First Thanksgiving. He has appeared on PBS NewsHour, NECN, and a satellite media tour that reaches 10.4 million viewers/year in the week before Thanksgiving.
Expertise: Plymouth Colony, 1620 Mayflower Story, faith of the Pilgrims, 17th-century lifeways, 1621 Harvest Feast known as the First Thanksgiving, the Mayflower Compact
Interviews may be arranged by contacting Erika Neenan at eneenan@plimoth.org