A historian with the State Historic Preservation Office, Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries, since 1988, Laura Ashlee coordinates the Michigan Historical Marker Program and the preservation office's public relations activities. She has authored over 500 historical markers, and she edited the first edition of Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers, published in 1991. Ashlee served as a contributing editor to Michigan History magazine from 1989 to 1997. She holds a BA in Humanities and an MA in American Studies from Michigan State University.