Inspiring the future
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Meet the Team
Highest standards of excellence
Led by Founder & President Rodney Cook Jr., our leadership team strives to carry out the Museum’s mission with the highest standards of excellence, authenticity, professionalism, and fiscal responsibility.
Rodney Mims Cook, Jr.
Founder and President
Rodney Mims Cook, Jr. is a graduate of Washington and Lee University. He is a scholar of the American Academy in Rome. At the age of 15, he initiated the campaign to successfully save the 5000+ seat Fox Theatre and in 1974 was a White House intern. In 1982, he established Rodney M. Cook Interests, a design/development company. In 1987, he established PolitesCook Architects which designed the Newington Cropsey Museum, NY, housing the largest American collection of Hudson River School paintings (Arthur Ross Award to founder).
Richard Kerfoot
Museum Director
Museum Director
Richard Kerfoot started with the Millennium Gate Museum as a research intern in 2014, and has been with the Museum ever since; now the Museum Director, Richard oversees the museum’s collection, supervises and negotiates the exchange or loan of artifacts, and organizes exhibitions, along with also managing building operations. He holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Public Policy from Georgia Tech, as well as an Associate of Sciences in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University Perimeter College. A proud nerd, in his spare time he enjoys a plethora of science fiction and fantasy media - including Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, among others - and is a member of the LARP and cosplay communities. He currently lives in the Atlanta metro area with his girlfriend and their dog.
Jake Kuniansky
Director of Education
Director of Education
Jake Kuniansky is the Director of Education at the Millennium Gate Museum in Atlanta, where he leads educational programming, school partnerships, and curriculum-based museum experiences. With a background in history education, he is passionate about connecting students and the public to history through engaging, mission-driven learning. His work also supports the broader initiatives of the National Monuments Foundation, helping advance public history, civic education, and cultural preservation.
Gabriela Swierczek
Team Member
Team Member
Gabriela Swierczek joins the National Monuments Foundation with a background in international affairs and research. She received a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the University of North Georgia, where she focused on global security and political studies, and also studied at the University of Latvia with an emphasis on Eastern European politics.
She served as a Committee Clerk for the Georgia Secretary of the Senate during the most recent legislative session, supporting committee operations and managing official documentation.
She previously interned with the Polish State Fire Department, where she assisted with translation, documentation, and administrative processes. She is fluent in Polish and proficient in Russian.
