Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, Matthew J. VanAcker is the Director and Curator of Save The Flags, a project to research, display, and conserve 240 battle flags carried by Michigan soldiers in the Civil War, the Spanish American War and World War I. He also serves as the Director Emeritus of the Education and History Department and as Vice President of the Michigan Civil War Association. He received his BA from MSU in Secondary History Education and Political Science and resides in West Lansing with his wife, Mary Kathleen, in an 1885 farmhouse where they raised their four children.

As Conservation Specialist for Save the Flags, Cambray Baylis researches and cares for Michigan’s Battle Flag Collection. Cambray is also the Deputy Director of the Education and History Department. She graduated from Adrian College in 2012 with a BA in history and theatre and in 2014 she obtained a MA in public history from Loyola University Chicago. In her free time, Cambray volunteers with the archives at Camp Arcadia, a 100-year-old summer camp on Lake Michigan and is involved with community theatre.

As a Conservation Specialist for Save The Flags, May Oyler cares for Michigan’s historic battle flags in the Heritage Hall conservation lab and assists with their preservation and interpretation. May also works as the Deputy Director of the Education and History Department. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2012 with a BA in history and museum studies and has over 15 years of experience in the public history field. May lives in a 1924 home in south Lansing with her husband, Adam.

As a Research Specialist for Save the Flags, Leith Curtis IV assists in researching and studying the flags and their history. He also works as a Capitol Educator and tour guide. He graduated from MSU in 2021 with a BA in history and is currently pursuing a MA in history at Arizona State. He currently lives in Eaton Rapids with his family and enjoys the outdoors in his free time.