Leadership

Advancing DEAI in a Polarized World

By Minal Bopaiah & Jakob Wolf-Barnett

Recently, we hosted a webinar with museum leaders on values-based communications for diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI). While all attendees were eager to commit fully to DEAI, many acknowledged the risks of doing so in …
AAM Announces Leadership Transition

By American Alliance of Museums

Credited with leading transformational change, President and CEO Laura Lott steps down in June For Immediate Release ARLINGTON, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum …
The Museum System Upgrade: A Q&A with András Szántó

By Adam Rozan

In the early days of COVID lockdowns, longtime cultural consultant and writer András Szántó began interviewing dozens of museum leaders around the world. As the pandemic simultaneously slowed down schedules and accelerated the field’s pace …
More Than Words Solidarity Statements and Action

By American Alliance of Museums

When it comes to structural racism, museums must be honest about their past mistakes, including how they will address them and what they believe in now. Sites of Conscience members will discuss their museums’ statements in response to the …
Assess for Success

By Laura Nice

The AAM Museum Assessment Program inspired the Janet Turner Print Museum to expand its programming, collection, and collaboration with campus and commun…
The Role of the Board in Times of Crisis

By American Alliance of Museums

This is a recorded session from the 2020 AAM Virtual Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. As the world responds to the impacts of COVID‐19, many museums are faced with the challenge to simultaneously serve their communities while also trying to …
Museum Boards: Ethics, Transparency, and Public Scrutiny

By American Alliance of Museums

This is a recorded session from the 2020 AAM Virtual Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. This session addresses the recent controversies surrounding museum trustees who have been the target of public protests due to their personal and …
Hindsight is 2020: What We Learned About Leadership in a Crisis

By Preeti Gupta, Daniel Zeiger, Sara Pelleteri, Alie LeBeau, Lindzy Bivings, and Kristin Evans

At the height of the pandemic, as so many aspects of our professional and personal lives hung in the balance and emotions fluctuated between despair and hope, effective leadership surfaced as essential. Facing public health restrictions …
Rethinking Our Human Resources Practices to Build a More Equitable Museum

By Micah D. Parzen, Ph.D., J.D.

Less than three weeks after COVID forced museums around the globe to close their doors last year, an article by Arundhati Roy in The Financial Times titled “The Pandemic is a Portal” stopped me in my tracks. In the midst of an …
Strengthening Our Core: How Defining Shared Values Can Revitalize Teams

By Beth Redmond-Jones

All aquariums, zoos, and museums have core values—beliefs, philosophies, and principles that drive the organization. These values support the organization’s vision, shape its culture, and ensure that all employees are working towards the …