About Me
My name is Susan Elaine Florek, and I lived in Philadelphia for 30 years where I was born after my parents met while attending school there in the 1960s. The ruinous and dangerous conditions of the city at that time prompted my parents to move to a small town in the Lehigh Valley where I spent most of my childhood immersed in the realized American Dream in the suburban landscape of the 1970s. Eventually, the changing economic circumstances during the 1990s brought me back to the city of Philadelphia, where I lived happily for the past 30 years after receiving a B.A. in Film and Journalism from Temple University in 1994. I recently moved back to the Lehigh Valley where I hope to continue my work creating fun and informative documentaries online.
After graduating from Temple University, I attended NYU for website development and started a freelance website design business. While waiting for payment from clients, I supplemented my income as a Carriage Driver and Tour Guide in the historical areas of Philadelphia near Independence National Historical Park. I drove a carriage with my horse "Noodles" around the historic neighborhoods of Old City and Society Hill lecturing tourists on 18th and 19th-century history. After an injury in 2009 left me unable to walk for some time, I continued my research of the city and began volunteering for the National Park Service at Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, and the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, where I found my calling to pursue a career as a public historian.
After I lived in the Northern Liberties neighborhood, located only a few blocks from the historic district in Philadelphia, I decided to continue my education by seeking a Masters in both Public History and the Humanities and focused on writing and producing documentaries based on the knowledge I have gained through these programs. I am determined to combine my education and experience in public history, filmmaking, and website design management to educate the public through online channels by expressing my knowledge and passion for American history and Western culture.
