Paula Gangopadhyay has dedicated more than thirty years of her career to the cultural, government and philanthropy sectors. She has left a lasting impact with her visionary leadership, inspiring others to think out-of-the-box. 

Paula is one of the few leaders who has been recognized with two honorable federal appointments – being appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the Board of IMLS (2012-2015) and being appointed as the Deputy Director, Office of Museum Services, and Senior Advisor to the Director at IMLS (2016-2021). Her leadership helped advance the entire museum field in the areas of digital technology, professional development, evaluation, access and STEM education. 

As the Chief Learning Officer at The Henry Ford, her efforts to mobilize students to think and act like innovators gained national recognition. She currently serves as the CEO of Pittock Mansion, a historic estate in Portland, Oregon while enjoying time with her young grandson. 

Asami Robledo-Allen Yamamoto (she/her/ella) is an art educator, artist, and doctoral candidate in the Department of Bilingual Bicultural Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research and practice focus on advancing equity, Spanish-language inclusion, and anti-ableist, anti-racist approaches within museum and art education, with particular attention to the preservation and celebration of Latine culture across the United States. Asami is a co-author of Language Inclusion in Museums and serves as co-editor for two issues of Translating Museum Education with the Journal of Museum Education. She is also a board member of the Museum Education Roundtable, the 2025–2027 National Women’s History Museum Predoctoral Research Fellow in Museum Studies, and a Curation Fellow with Of_Color and the Austin Public Library. 

Kyna Stys is a public historian and educational programmer serving as the Director of Education and Museum Programs at the National Museum of the Pacific War. With seven years in the museum field, Kyna takes a strategy-driven approach to designing audience-centered experiences that make history engaging, accessible, and relevant. She specializes in aligning institutional missions with emerging trends while fostering a culture of experimentation and new ways of public engagement. 

During her tenure, Kyna has spearheaded a period of monumental growth, expanding the museum’s educational reach from 11,000 participants in 2021 to more than 600,000 in 2025. Her initiatives have successfully engaged audiences across all 50 states and 37 countries, bringing the lessons of the Pacific War to a global stage. Kyna credits this impact to the strength of her team and prides herself on supporting high-performing staff who transform bold strategy into meaningful, memorable experiences for diverse audiences. 

Kyra March is a doctoral student in African American History and Women’s and Gender History with a certificate in Public Humanities at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. She served as a Humanities Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks and the National Gallery of Art from 2022-2023 and as a Consulting Curator at Dumbarton Oaks from 2023-2024. She curated the ongoing exhibition “Bound By The Beverleys: Enslaved Labor on the Dumbarton Oaks Landscape from 1805-1823,” the first public facing initiative to recognize slavery at the institution. She has also served as an intern and guest curator at the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) in Skillman, NJ, where she curated the exhibition “The Head That Wears The Crown: Black Women’s Headwear From Slavery to Freedom,” which is travelling to its third location in 2026. Kyra currently serves as SSAAM’s Museum Tour and Exhibitions Coordinator and is committed to connecting people to history through storytelling. 

Michael K. Wilson, Ph. D., is Curator at the African American Museum in Philadelphia and Assistant Professor of Art History and Pan-Africana Studies at Lincoln University. Michael is also a Fulbright Fellow, a two-time Nelson Mandela Museum Fellow, and currently serves on the College Art Association’s Museum Committee. 

Michael’s curatorial contributions include the 2023 collaborative exhibition between the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) and the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) titled Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America. His most recent curatorial projects include the Pearl Bailey Showcase and the now traveling exhibition Shaheed Rucker: (re)Covering the Iconic. 

Michael’s research interests include contemporary African diaspora art practices and decolonial aesthetics in the Caribbean. His publication contributions include the International Journal of Africana Studies. While at Lincoln, Michael also established the Museum Studies Professional Development internship program, providing students with hands-on experience in archival, curatorial, and collections management practices. 

Okunsola M. Amadou, a multi award-winning Midwife, Pioneer, Founder and Museum Scholar, is a graduate of the Midwives College of Utah and the University of Iowa Museum Studies Program. She is the Founder in Residence of The Historic Jamaa Birth Village Cultural Heritage Center (Jamaa Birth Village) & Founding Chief Curator of the African Indigenous Midwifery Museum and African Indigenous Midwifery Library & Research Institute. Okunsola is Missouri’s first African American Certified Professional Midwife and first Black Registered CPM Preceptor, with over a decade of clinical practice, founding Missouri’s first Black Midwifery Clinic and School. A dedicated midwife, writer, visionary and folklorist, she focuses on research and historic preservation of midwifery, connecting traditional birth practices with public health and cultural heritage. Her recent work includes The Black Midwife Oracle™ (2025), a cultural project honoring Black midwives across the diaspora. 

Adrienne Lalli Hills (Wyandotte Nation) is Director of Learning & Community Engagement at First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Since 2007, she has worked across the museum field as an educator, interpretive planner, and teaching artist, with past roles at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Science Museum Oklahoma, and Philbrook Museum of Art, and consulting work for the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Peabody Essex Museum. She is a founding board member of the Association for Art Museum Interpretation and has held leadership positions with the Museum Education Roundtable and Museum Computer Network. Adrienne is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Pittsburgh, where her research focuses on the impact of museum learning experiences on youth identity development. 

Emily currently serves as the new Foundation Administrator for the PacifiCorp Foundation, making grants and supporting communities in six states in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West. Prior to this role, Emily worked for 14 years serving the State of Utah in the Division of Arts & Museums, first as the Collections Curator & Registrar, and finally as the Director of Field Services. During her tenure at Arts & Museums, Emily was awarded multiple federal programming and research grants from IMLS and NEH, and incubated projects related to Museum Social Impact, community-based collections care, and museum mentorship. She has served on her city’s Historic Commission, the Utah Museums Association Board, the Utah State Historic Records Advisory Board, and the nominating committee for AASLH. Emily was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and graduated with her MA in History from the University of Utah.   

Hillary C. Olcott is the curator of arts of the Americas at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She worked at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection from 2010 to 2014 and joined FAMSF’s curatorial staff in 2014. Hillary’s collaborative and cross-disciplinary projects engage with Indigenous arts and artists across the Americas. Recent projects include co-editing the monumental catalogue Native American Art from the Thomas W. Weisel Family Collection (2023) and co-creating the online multimedia project Alaska Native Arts Close Look (2022). Hillary is also the curator of the special exhibition Rose B. Simpson LEXICON (2025-2027), and the project originator and co-curator of the newly re-envisioned Arts of Indigenous Americas galleries at the de Young museum (opened August 2025). She is deeply committed to building meaningful relationships, ethically stewarding the collections under her care, and helping bring about positive change in the field. 

Jami J. Van Huss is a native Utahn, wife, mother of three amazing girls, historian, and museum professional. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, she found her calling in the museum field. She enjoys projects that include researching, writing, curating exhibits, teaching, and collaboration. She is currently the director of the Hyrum City Museum, plus values being involved within the larger museum ecosystem as the VP of Professional Development for the Utah Museums Association, an exhibit curator for the Utah Historical Society, a regional award representative for AASLH, and serving on boards of local history organizations including the Sema Hadithi Foundation. Jami prioritizes community collaboration, particularly with the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and Utah Humanities. Above all else, Jami loves spending time with her family–especially in the mountains or at their sporting events, eating cheese enchiladas, riding rollercoasters, and going to the movies. 

Marianna Pegno is the Senior Curator, Art and Social Practice at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, where she leads socially engaged, community-based initiatives. With over 15 years of museum experience, she advances organizational transformation by co-creating projects with local communities. Pegno’s relationship-building and commitment to collaborator conversations have resulted in initiatives rooted in dialogue and shared authority. These include creating multivocal exhibitions that explore the intersections of heritage, history, culture, and material experimentation; expanding access through innovative person-centered audience engagement; and interdisciplinary practices advancing multilingual, community-centered approaches. She has also co-authored publications on these topics, including Community-Based Curation: A Toolkit for Expanding Narratives and Changing Practice and Institutional Change for Museums: A Practical Guide to Creating Polyvocal Spaces. Marianna holds a PhD in Art History and Education and an MA in Art History from the University of Arizona, as well as a BA from New York University. 

Paul Stavast is Director of the Brigham Young University Museum of Peoples and Cultures and an Associate Teaching Professor of Anthropology where he coordinates a graduate program in museum practices. He currently serves on the State of Utah’s Native American Remains Repatriation Committee and serves on the Executive Committee of the Utah Museums Association as the Advocacy Vice-president. His research, advocacy, and mentoring focus on the local and state level. Since 2023, he has led research to document and track Utah laws and regulations impacting museums.  

Paul finds inspiration in providing students with experiential learning opportunities that allow students to feel the joys and struggles of working in the museum field. As a mentor, he ensures each mentored student develops an understanding of the potential for museums to improve individuals, heal communities, and inspire others. 

Vivian Zavataro is the Executive and Creative Director of the Ulrich Museum of Art, where she advances audience-centered, experimental curatorial strategies that position the museum as a hub for connection, civic dialogue, and inclusive practice. A museologist specializing in contemporary art and community engagement, she has led major initiatives in strategic planning, reaccreditation, fundraising, and institutional growth, while developing ambitious exhibitions and public programs. Previously, as Director and Chief Curator of the John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art, she expanded operations, secured an endowment, transformed collections care, and built dynamic partnerships across campus and community. Zavataro’s career includes roles at documenta, the Nevada Museum of Art, the Frans Hals Museum, and other institutions. Her exhibitions have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Terra Foundation for American Art. 

Joan Mummert is an accomplished nonprofit executive with more than 40 years of leadership experience across regional and national mission-driven organizations. Her career reflects a steady progression into senior leadership across Girls Clubs (now Girls Inc.), Youth for Understanding, the Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital, Shippensburg University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the Maryland Historical Society, and the York County History Center where her passion for history aligned with her nonprofit background. 

At the York County History Center—where she served for over 18 years—Joan provided visionary leadership in program development, fundraising, and organizational advancement. She led a major capital campaign that, in collaboration with community stakeholders, board leadership, and a dedicated campaign cabinet, secured $30 million to transform the former York Metropolitan Edison electric and steam generating plant into an award-winning, state-of-the-art museum, library, and archives. Within the first year of opening, the organization experienced significant increases in visibility, attendance, and tourism, achieving core strategic objectives and strengthening its regional impact. 

 
Joan holds a Bachelor of Science in Nonprofit Administration (through American Humanics) and Physical Education from the University of Indianapolis and a Master of Science in Organizational Development from the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business. She has completed extensive executive-level professional development, including Leadership York’s Nonprofit Leadership Academy, the Colonial Williamsburg Development Institute, Georgetown University’s executive train-the-trainer program, and Harvard University’s “Leadership for the 21^st Century: Chaos, Conflict, and Change,” the latter through the York Federal Fellows program. 

 
Following her retirement from the History Center, Joan continues to contribute to the York-area nonprofit sector through consulting and her active involvement with the Rotary Club of York, the Give Local York Advisory Committee, Leadership York, the Country Club of York Board of Governors, and other community leadership initiatives. 

Dr. Kantara Souffrant is the inaugural Senior Director of Community Dialogue and Adult Programs at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where she aspires to make people feel interconnected through various adult program offerings and sustainable community partnerships—from intimate community conversations on the state of belonging, to museum-wide Free Days and block parties. Souffrant is a Haitian-American artist-scholar who brings her passion for community engagement, dialogue, and facilitation to her work as an educator, performer, and community member. She holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, with certificates in Critical Theory, African and Diaspora Studies, and Teaching. Her scholarship examines visual and performance art in the Black Atlantic, Black feminist aesthetics, and museum pedagogy.  She is the co-author of Institutional Change for Museums: A Practical Guide to Creating Polyvocal Spaces, which demonstrates how museums can enact institutional change through systematic, structural approaches to anti-racist, anti-colonial, and anti-elitist practices. 

LaNesha McCoy (DeBardelaben) is a museum administrator serving as Executive Director of BlackPast.org, an online global Black history educational resource. She previously served as President & CEO of the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle where she led innovative programming, crafted a forward-facing strategic and expansion plan with a relevant new mission statement, and elevated fundraising to record-setting levels. While there, she founded the Knowledge Is Power Book Giveaway Program that distributed over 25,000 free, new African American children’s books to youth. 
 
Prior, she was Senior Vice President of Education & Exhibitions at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. She has studied museums in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Germany, England, and Israel. She is Past National President of the Association of African American Museums Board of Directors. Never forgetting the mentors that shaped her life like Juanita Moore, she strives to honor their investment through service. 

Michele Y. Smith is the CEO of the Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP), known for her mission-focused leadership in the nonprofit sector, emphasizing business development, operations, and finance. Her approach prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and mentoring, advocating for philanthropy’s democratization through pop culture. Previously, as Chief Business & Financial Officer at Woodland Park Zoo, Smith led the institution through the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving significant growth in revenue, events, and guest services with her dynamic strategy.  

Victoria Munro (b. 1975, Wellington, New Zealand) is an artist, educator, writer, and curator whose multifaceted practice bridges sculpture, public art, and cultural leadership. Munro is the Executive Director and Curator of the Alice Austen House Museum, where she stewards a site of LGBTQ+ visibility and storytelling. She also serves as Board President of the Museums Council of New York City and sits on both the Executive Leadership Committee of the NYC Parks and Open Spaces Coalition and the National Trust’s Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios Program. 

As founder of the Queer Ecologies Garden Project at Alice Austen Park, Munro fuses environmental activism with queer theory, cultivating a living, evolving space that reimagines relationships between identity, land, and community. Her work, across sculpture, curation, and ecological practice, champions queer presence in both natural and institutional spaces.