Kahla DeSmit
Executive Director
Kahla DeSmit is the former Executive Director of the Lewisburg Children’s Museum. Previously she worked as the Interim Visitor Services Manager at Gracie Mansion in New York City. DeSmit holds a B.A. degree from Susquehanna University and an M.A. degree from the SUNY Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program. She is a passionate life-long learner and advocate of the special place museums can and should have in our communities.
Michelle Paulus-Baumgarten
Membership and Operations Manager
Michelle currently serves as Membership and Operations Manager. With a Masters degree in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, Michelle is passionate about fundraising and nonprofit administration. She has raised over $30 million for nonprofit organizations via Major Gifts, Sponsorship, Special Events, Membership, and Foundation support.
Consultant
From 2006 until 2020 Ms. Schwartz was President and CEO of Brooklyn Historical Society, a nationally renowned urban history center founded in 1863. During her tenure, Ms. Schwartz guided groundbreaking projects including the award-winning Oral History Program; In Pursuit of Freedom: The Brooklyn Abolitionists (in partnership with Weeksville Heritage Center and Irondale Ensemble Project); Teen Innovators (at the Brooklyn Navy Yard); and Public Perspectives: a series of community curated exhibitions. In 2017, Deborah launched a satellite museum in the Empire Stores building in DUMBO. In 2020, Ms. Schwartz successfully led the effort to merge Brooklyn Historical Society with the Brooklyn Public Library.
From 2002 to 2006 she served as the Edward John Noble Foundation Deputy Director for Education at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2002, she curated the critically acclaimed exhibition, Art Inside Out for the Children’s Museum of Manhattan that featured work by contemporary artists Elizabeth Murray, William Wegman, and Fred Wilson. From 1983 to 2000 Ms. Schwartz was Vice Director for Education and Program Development at the Brooklyn Museum. She has published articles on public discourse and community building in museums. A recognized leader in the field of museum education, she has taught graduate seminars on museum management for NYU’s Museum Studies Program, and at Columbia University Teacher’s College in the Arts Administration Program; Internationally, Ms. Schwartz has offered workshops on museum leadership in China and the Ukraine.
Ms. Schwartz has consulted on a range of governance, institutional leadership, and education matters for institutions including The Pew Charitable Trust, American Federation of Arts, The Berkshire Museum, Harley Davidson Corporation, The Jewish Museum (New York), New York State Council on the Arts, and The Parrish Art Museum.
Director of Learning & Visitor Experience, The Frick Pittsburgh
Amanda holds a B.A. in History from Allegheny College and an M.A. in Public History from Duquesne University. In addition to overseeing all adult, student and family programs related to the museum’s diverse collection, she is responsible for several initiatives under the Frick’s Strategic Plan, including the development of a Visitor Experience Master Plan. Her museum career began in the curatorial departments at the Senator John Heinz History Center and at the Frick. For several years her work spanned across both curatorial and education departments as she served as curator of Clayton, the historic home of Henry Clay Frick, and simultaneously developed tours and trained interpretive staff. Amanda served on the design team for the Frick’s $15 million dollar expansion (a new Visitor Center, a renovated Car & Carriage Museum, collections storage, and a new Education Center) to support programming for learners of all ages and needs. Amanda serves on the steering committee of the Pittsburgh Museum Educators Roundtable, a professional organization that builds a community of practice for museum educators by providing opportunity for networking, partnering, and shared professional development. She is also an adjunct professor in the Public History graduate program at Duquesne University, where she teaches a course on public programming.
President and CEO, Science History Institute, Philadelphia, PA
David Cole began his tenure as President and CEO of the Science History Institute in Philadelphia in May 2020. Previously, he served as Executive Director of the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, DE. Prior to his tenure at Hagley, Dr. Cole served as Vice President at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, MA and as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Harvard Art Museums of Harvard University. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, he received a master’s degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in the history of art and American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Cole has been a Henry Luce Foundation Fellow, a Research Fellow of the Learning Innovations Laboratory (LILA) of Harvard University, and has taught at Harvard University, Rice University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He is a trustee of the Robert Creeley Foundation, the Catalogue for Philanthropy, and the Delaware Council on Economic Education.
Program Administrator, Professional Curation Program, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Angela Winand is currently the Program Administrator, Professional Curation Program at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Previously, she was the Director of the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage and Diversity Programming at the Delaware Historical Society in Wilmington where she worked with her colleagues to create engaging educational experiences for visitors of all ages at the Delaware History Museum, and to develop collections focused on preserving black history in Delaware. Dr. Winand currently serves on the board of the Redding House Foundation, which manages the childhood home of Louis Redding, the first African American lawyer in the state and a key figure in a companion case to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. Dr. Winand created educational programs at George Washington’s Mount Vernon and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Before starting a new career as a museum professional, she spent 20 years teaching courses in African American history and culture at the college level. She holds a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan, and is a graduate of the Museum Studies Master’s program at Johns Hopkins University.
Vice President and Executive Director, Nemours Estate, Wilmington, DE.
Jean Hershner is Vice President and Executive Director of Nemours Estate, a 220- acre historic property sharing a campus and a legacy with Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. She has earned a B.A. in Integrative Arts and an M.A. in American Studies from The Pennsylvania State University, as well as an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University. At the conclusion of her graduate programs, she received the Joel Sater Award for Creative Achievement in American Studies (Penn State) and the Harold C. Howard Servant Leader Award (Eastern University). In building her nonprofit career, Jean has worked in local, statewide, and national organizations that include York History (York, PA); Preservation Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, PA); and American Walks (national, remote), respectively. She joined the staff of Nemours Estate in 2018 as Manager of Museum Operations before ascending through the ranks to her current role in January 2021. Most recently, Nemours Estate was the inaugural recipient of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums’ Making an Impact Award. Jean is grateful for the Estate’s creative and dedicated staff team! Aside from work, she enjoys reading and traveling (usually to see her two grown children) and lives in Wilmington, Delaware.
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Chief Strategy Officer and Founding Director, The Peale, Baltimore, MD
Nancy Proctor is Chief Strategy Officer and founding Executive Director of The Peale, Baltimore’s Community Museum, based in the first purpose-built museum in the U.S. Previously, Nancy was Deputy Director of Digital Experience and Communications at the Baltimore Museum of Art (2014-2016), Head of Mobile Strategy and Initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution (2010-2014), and Head of New Media Initiatives at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum (2008-2010).
With a PhD in American art history and a background in filmmaking, curation and feminist theory and criticism in the arts, Nancy lectures and publishes widely on technology and innovation in museums, in French and Italian as well as English. She edited Mobile Apps for Museums: The AAM Guide to Planning and Strategy in 2010, and coordinated the publication of Inclusive Digital Interactives: Best Practices + Research for MuseWeb with Access Smithsonian and the Institute for Human Centered Design in 2020. Nancy served as Co-chair of the international MuseWeb (formerly Museums and the Web) Conferences with Rich Cherry, and edited its annual proceedings from 2012-2020. Nancy created her first online exhibition in 1995 and went on to publish the New Art CD-ROM and website of contemporary art – a first in the UK – in 1996.
She co-founded TheGalleryChannel.com in 1998 with Titus Bicknell to present virtual tours of innovative exhibitions alongside comprehensive global museum and gallery listings. The Gallery Channel was later acquired by Antenna Audio, where Nancy led New Product Development from 2000-2008, introducing the company’s multimedia, sign language, downloadable, podcast and cellphone tours. She also directed Antenna’s sales in France from 2006-2007, and was part of the Travel Channel’s product development team 2007-2008.
As program chair Nancy led the development of the Museums Computer Network (MCN) conference programs 2010-2011, and co-organized the Tate Handheld conference 2008 & 2010 with Jane Burton. She started the MuseumMobile wiki and podcast series in 2008, was Digital Editor of Curator: The Museum Journal from 2009-2014, and has served on the Journal’s editorial board, as well as on the Board of Directors of the Omnimuseum Project.
Director of Programming, Heritage Trail Association: Bridgewater, NJ
Sean Blinn is a museum professional focusing on evaluation and developing participatory experiences. He currently serves as Director of Programming for the Heritage Trail Association in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and has also served as a trustee of that organization. He is a former President of the Board of Trustees of the Jacobus Vanderveer House, a historic house museum in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he remains a member of the Board. His involvement in history museums extends to service on the American Association for State and Local History’s Small Museums Committee, and he has recently start blogging for AASLH about how to advocate for museums with municipal and county government.
Outside the museum field, Mr. Blinn has extensive service in municipal and county government. He is a current member of the Bedminster Township (NJ) Historic Preservation Commission. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Somerset County (NJ) Cultural and Heritage Commission, where he serves on the Arts Committee and History Committee. Prior to this, he was Chairman of the Bedminster Township Environmental Commission and Vice Chairman of the Bedminster Township Planning Board.
Before joining the museum field, he worked in the technology sector, including working as Senior Manager of Quality and Process at AT&T, where he wrote and reviewed process documentation, as well as leading software user acceptance testing projects.
He holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in Political Science from Binghamton University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Haverford College.
Executive Director, Presque Isle Light Station | Lake Erie Lights in Erie, Pennsylvania
Averie Shaughnessy-Comfort is the Executive Director of Presque Isle Light Station | Lake Erie Lights in Erie, Pennsylvania where she is the chief strategist, fundraiser, and historic preservationist for the organization. Previously, Averie served as the Development Director at the Erie Art Museum and as the Executive Director for the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums between 2017 and 2021. She is passionate about preserving historic structures, particular in Rust Belt cities, that illustrate the narratives of the people that worked in and around them. In her current role, she strives to make historic sites more approachable to the general public, and seeks to tie their connections to the communities and environment in which they reside.
Averie has also worked at various museums and nonprofit organizations including the Carnegie Science Center, Adirondack Experience, and the Otsego Land Trust. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA and Master’s from the Cooperstown Graduate Program at the State University of New York (SUNY) Oneonta. Averie is an ongoing Project Grant Reviewer for the New Jersey Historical Commission and serves her community as a Judge of Elections for her precinct in Erie County. In her free time, Averie sings in the Erie Philharmonic Chorus and serves as their Friends of the Chorus Fundraising Committee Chair. You can sometimes find Averie co-hosting Great Lakes episodes of “Light Hearted”, the official podcast of the United States Lighthouse Society with lead host Jeremy D’Entremont. She is a native of Pittsburgh and a lover of all things black and gold.
Executive Director, Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance, New York, New York
Melissa Kiewiet is the Director of Development and Community Engagement at the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance. Kiewiet wears many hats in their position, a few of which are: creating and implementing a social media strategy, bolstering individual, corporate and institutional giving, creating new guiding initiatives aimed at bettering the neighborhood, managing the internship program, and overseeing museum operations. They are passionate about museums as drivers for social change and as community anchors.
Kiewiet earned her Bachelors’ degree in History from Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee. They are a graduate of the Cooperstown Graduate Program at the State University of New York College at Oneonta where they earned their Masters degree in Museum Studies. They have worked in various development departments in the arts and culture sector prior to their current position and serves on the Maryville College Alumni Association Board.
Africana Archivist for Special Collections, JHU Sheridan Libraries, Baltimore, MD
Ms. Tonika Berkley is the Africana Archivist for Special Collections at JHU Sheridan Libraries and is co-director of the Inheritance Baltimore’s Community Archives Program. She has her MAA in Applied Anthropology/Heritage from University of Maryland-College Park and her BA in Sociology/Anthropology from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Ms. Berkley is an archivist, historical researcher, museum educator, humanities facilitator and curator, and has worked for various museums and cultural institutions in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia over the past 20+ years, including the Walters Art Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Industry, The Decatur House on Lafayette Square, The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, Penn Museum of Archeology & Anthropology and Scribe Video Center. In 2018-19, she served as Research Coordinator and Curator of prototype physical and digital exhibitions for “Education Will Be Our Pride: The Colored School at the Peale (1878-89)”, and curator of a 3D scanned tour of the Peale building, based on the history of Male and Female Colored School No. 1. Ms. Berkley also coordinated the development of a microsite, “School1,” an online repository for the history of 19th century education of African Americans in Baltimore City and surrounding counties. As the Africana Archivist at Sheridan Libraries, she has also developed the “From Enslavement to Liberation: Legacy of Slavery at Homewood Museum” oral history collection within the Special Collections department. Ms. Berkley has also co-curated two exhibitions for Sheridan Libraries: “Community Archives: Preserving Black Baltimore’s History” in 2022 and “Black Foodways: A Culinary Diaspora” in 2023 and is currently co-curating a photography exhibition for the Eubie Blake Cultural Center, “Bearing Witness: Black Photography in Baltimore”.
Chief Program Officer, KID Museum: Bethesda, MD
Jacqueline Eyl is the Chief Program Officer at the KID Museum in Bethesda. Prior to that, she was the founding Director of Youth Education at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. She holds a Master’s Degree in Teaching from the Museum Education Program at The George Washington University and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Archaeology from Emory University. She has over 30 years’ experience working in museums in both exhibition and interactive development as well as educational program and curriculum development. She has worked at the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta Georgia, The Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian Institution, the National Building Museum, Discovery Creek Children’s Museum and the National Museum of Dentistry. Most recently, Jackie was a creative lead on the reimagining of the International Spy Museum’s exhibitions and move to a new state of the art building in L’Enfant Plaza, DC. She researched and curated various exhibitions and led the development of the new RFID-enabled Undercover Mission interactives. Jackie also currently serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Museum Studies program at Johns Hopkins University and teaches and mentors students in The George Washington University Museum Education Program.
Partner, JacobsWyper Architects, Philadelphia, PA
David Searles is an architect specializing in museum and cultural projects including planning, renovations, and the design of new buildings. For more than 30 years, he has supported institutions such as The Franklin Institute, Independence Visitor Center, Nemours Estate, and the Academy of Natural Sciences fulfill their visions of growth while remaining true to their heritage. With such a diverse portfolio of work he has honed a unique set of skills to coalesce the built environment with the exhibits, interpretation, and education they serve. Understanding clients’ needs and adapting to ever shifting circumstances, David excels in synthesizing complex projects to enhance the communities they serve. David takes a wholistic, human-centered approach to his work, “born in my interest in solving problems for people…” making their day-to-day lives better, perhaps even enlightening.
Affiliate Scholar, Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center
Annie Storr has devoted her career to exploring the intersection of art history and public education. She holds an M.A.T. in Museum Education for GWU, Ph.D. in Art History from the U. Delaware and other degrees in Art and Religion. She was awarded a National Graduate Fellowship from the US Dept. of Education for her dissertation on the intellectual history of core themes in American art museum docent tours, traced back to the 18thC. Annie was the founding Chair of Education Studies Department at the Corcoran College of Art + Design. Prior to that, she was Head of Education Programs for the American Alliance (Association) of Museums, as well as Director of Arts Management at American University. She has been a practicing museum educator for more than 3 decades, first as Curator of Education at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (Canada). With an evolving group of students and colleagues, Annie created the guided-looking method called, “Exercises for the Quiet Eye” at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, at Harvard’s Museum Studies program, and at Pendle Hill near Philadelphia. In 2021, she was the Frances Shaw Fellow at Ragdale Art Colony, where she drafted 7 chapters of a book about the philosophy & practice of EQE. She lives in Greater Washington, DC, is a Terra Foundation Research & Education Fellow at Hull House (Chicago), and teaches one semester each year in New England. She is an Affiliate Scholar at Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Research Center and teaches at the College of Holy Cross (art history/humanities) and the University of New Hampshire (museum studies).
Senior Project Manager, Becker & Frondorf, Philadelphia, PA
Beth Van Why is an owner’s rep project manager with Becker & Frondorf, focusing primarily on work with museums and cultural institutions. Beth has a variety of museum and design experience, and a deep understanding of the challenges that are intrinsic to the project development process. She has a thorough understanding of Board relations, communication and approval processes, and the timelines needed to complete museum projects. Beth joined B&F in 2018 and has worked with a variety of museums and non-profits throughout the mid-Atlantic.
She has served on MAAM’s Building Museums planning and sponsorship committees since 2019.
Prior to joining B&F, Beth was with the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, where she oversaw exhibitions, education and programming, maintenance, security, and historic preservation teams for the 12 locations associated with ISMHS. She led the in-house design and renovation of six permanent galleries, creation of more than 20 temporary exhibitions throughout the system, and implementation of a new interpretive center. As part of the senior leadership team, she also worked on system-wide strategy development. Prior to working at ISMHS, she was the Director of Exhibition Operations at the National Constitution Center where she led the travel and installation of the award-winning exhibition American Spirits.
Van Why holds a master’s degree in Industrial Design from the University of the Arts and a bachelor’s degree in architecture with a minor in history from Virginia Tech.
Co-director, University Museums, Hamilton, NY
Dr. Nicholas West is the co-director of University Museums and curator of Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University. He has also been designated a research affiliate in the university’s department of art. West has held curatorial and administrative positions in several museums in the Los Angeles area, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, the City of Lancaster Museum of Art and History, and the University of Southern California’s (USC) Fisher Museum of Art. West managed the USC Fisher Museum of Art’s successful application for reaccreditation with the American Alliance of Museums and played a lead role in the planning and design of a new facility for the City of Lancaster Museum of Art and History.
West holds MSt and DPhil degrees in Archaeology from the University of Oxford along with an MA degree in Arts Management from Claremont Graduate University. His research interests include the history of collections, the post-antique reception of Greek and Roman art, and curatorial methodologies for academic museums.
Director, Cooperstown Graduate Program
Gretchen Sorin holds a B.A. in American Studies (Rutgers University), an M.A. in Museum Studies (Cooperstown Graduate Program) and a Ph.D. in American history (University at Albany/SUNY). Dr. Sorin has over 35 years of experience in the museum profession consulting with more than 250 museums. She has served as guest curator for many exhibitions including Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art; the nationally acclaimed traveling exhibition, Bridges and Boundaries: African Americans and American Jews for the Jewish Museum (NY), and the award-winning Wilderness Cure: Tuberculosis and the Adirondacks for the Adirondack Museum. She is Director and Distinguished Professor of the Cooperstown Graduate Program. Dr. Sorin writes and lectures frequently on African American history and museum practice.