Dr. Kimball brings four decades of expertise as a historian and curator, with a deep focus on the American South, African American history, labor movements, and traditional music. Currently the Senior Consulting Historian at the Shockoe Institute, he was formerly the Director of Outreach and Public Services at the Library of Virginia. He holds a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Virginia and an M.L.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park. 

As an accomplished author, Dr. Kimball has written numerous articles and essays, along with the book American City, Southern Place: A Cultural History of Antebellum Richmond. His upcoming work, Searching for Jimmie Strother, is set for release in February 2025.  

Throughout his career, he has curated major exhibitions such as “Teetotalers and Moonshiners: Prohibition in Virginia, Distilled” (2015), “The Working People of Richmond: Life and Labor in an Industrial City” (1992), and “In Bondage and Freedom: Antebellum Black Life in Richmond, Virginia” (1988).