Megan Wood is the Executive Director and CEO for the Ohio History Connection. Prior to taking that role she was Director of Cultural Resources Division, which is responsible for the Ohio History Connection’s system of 58 historic sites, 1.8 million collection items, and all exhibitions across the sites. Megan obtained a B.A. in Public History from Western Michigan University and a M.A. in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. Most of her career has focused on education and learning in museums. Megan is an active member of the American Association for State and Local History and the American Alliance of Museums.

Scott Wands serves as Deputy Director of Grants and Programs at Connecticut Humanities, overseeing the organization’s Grants, Digital Humanities, and Center for the Book departments. He has helped guide CT Humanities to being a more equitable, collaborative grant funder resulting in the administration and distribution of over $60 million to the state’s cultural community since 2020. He is helping coordinate CT’s Semiquincentennial planning and served on Connecticut’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. He was the co-creator of StEPs-CT which helped forty-seven organizations build professionalism and become vibrant community resources. Scott has served as AASLH Secretary since 2022 and previously was on AASLH Council from 2016-2020. Before joining CTH in March 2008, he worked for five years at Connecticut Landmarks as assistant curator of education. Scott lives in Wethersfield, CT and volunteers on the town’s Library Board, Heritage and Tourism Commission, and the Wethersfield Greater Together Community Fund.

Ly Foor, manager of the Audience Insights Department at Ohio History Connection (OHC), oversees the design and implementation of visitor studies ranging from small concept and experience tests to large-scale research projects, as well as providing analysis and insights to inform planning and decision-making for OHCs more than 50 historical sites and museums, education and outreach, and overall organizational strategies.

 Ly is a 38-year museum veteran, having held various roles in education, exhibit development and project management before concentrating exclusively on visitor studies. She holds an M.A. in Learning and Visitor Studies in Museums from the University of Leicester and a B.S. in Human Ecology from The Ohio State University.

Susie Wilkening (she/her) has over 25 years of experience in museums, including nearly 20 years leading custom projects for museums as well as fielding groundbreaking national research on the role of museums in American society.

As principal of Wilkening Consulting, she provides research leadership for the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, She is the primary author of most of the infographics Data Stories, which share research findings with the museum field. Additionally, she is the author of Audiences and Inclusion: A Primer for Cultivating More Inclusive Attitudes Among the Public and is the primary author of Life Stages of the Museum Visitor.

Susie is a go-to expert on museums for the media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, NPR, and others.

Susie earned a BS in History, Technology, and Society from Georgia Tech and an MA from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. She resides in Seattle, and her husband and curious children often accompany her as she travels to various museums and historic sites.