A. J. Medlock has a master's degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master of arts in public history from Southeast Missouri State University. Prior to joining SHSMO in October 2017, he worked as an associate historian on the Soldiers Memorial Revitalization Project at the Missouri History Museum. A lifelong Missourian, Medlock traces his family's roots in the state to southeast Missouri in 1850.