Arlington, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today announced 1 first time accreditation and 25 reaccreditation awards made at the October 2024 meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, 1112 are currently accredited.

Through a rigorous process of self-assessment and review by their peers, these museums have demonstrated they meet standards and best practices, and are educational entities that are appropriate stewards of the collections and resources they hold in the public trust.

Recognized as the field’s gold standard for museum excellence for nearly 55 years, AAM accreditation signifies a museum’s quality and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. The Accreditation Program ensures the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforces the educational and public service roles of museums, and promotes good governance practices and ethical behavior.

First time Accreditation

• Avenir Museum of Design & Merchandising, Fort Collins, CO

Reaccreditation

• Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL
• Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
• Brookgreen Gardens, Pawleys Island, SC
• Chicago History Museum, Chicago, IL
• Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
• De Saisset Museum, Santa Clara, CA
• Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY
• Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
• Grout Museum District, Waterloo, IA
• Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, Honolulu, HI
• Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, MA
• Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, KY
• Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA
• Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, San Juan, PR
• National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
• North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck, ND
• Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City, OK
• Paine Art Center & Gardens, Oshkosh, WI
• Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, TX
• Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY
• Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, Dallas, TX
• The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, FL
• USC Museums (Fisher Museum, Pacific Asia Museum), Pasadena, CA
• Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, IA
• Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Madison, WI

To earn accreditation, a museum submits a self-study questionnaire and key operational documents for evaluation, then undergoes a site visit by a two-person team of peer reviewers which produces a report for the Accreditation Commission. The Commission uses these materials and its collective expertise to determine whether to grant accreditation.

The Accreditation Commission meets 3 times a year (February, June, and October) and can make one of the following decisions:

• Grant accreditation (usually for 10 years)
• Table its decision for 1 year so specific issues can be addressed
• Deny accreditation due to failure to meet multiple Core Standards
• Defer a decision to gather additional information

A museum’s accredited status is not changed during a period in which a decision is tabled or deferred.

Read more about the Alliance’s Accreditation Program.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan

media@aam-us.org

Arlington, VA—The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today released findings from the latest iteration of an annual survey assessing the current state of museums in the United States.

Over 400 museum directors responded to the survey on their organizations’ behalf, representing a broad cross-section of the field in geography, size, and discipline. The survey, conducted by AAM and Wilkening Consulting and fielded in August of this year, tracked key metrics the Alliance began to collect in June 2020 to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on museums and, more recently, gauging new opportunities and challenges for the sector.

“Museums across the country are critical to the economic vitality of communities, education and workforce development, and preserving our cultural heritage,” said Marilyn Jackson, AAM President & CEO. “While museums strive to fill important gaps in their communities, they face significant challenges. The findings of this year’s report paint a clear picture that the museum field is still on the path to recovery from the impacts of the pandemic and will continue to be vulnerable to significant disruptions.”

The 2024 report shows encouraging improvement from 2023 though recovery remains uneven, and many museums have not yet returned to their pre-pandemic attendance or financial health:

• Four years after the pandemic’s start, only half of museums (51 percent) have recovered to 100 percent or more of their pre-pandemic attendance levels. This is an improvement from 2023 when only one-third of museums had fully recovered to their pre-pandemic attendance levels.

• Museums support a broad range of American jobs in their communities, from security and administrative positions to educators and exhibition designers. 89% of museums have maintained consistent staff sizes or grown their staff over the past year.

• Financial recovery from the damage of the pandemic has been inconsistent, with 19% of museums seeing decreases in net operating performance as compared to 2019, 57% experiencing increases, and 24% seeing no change.

• Looking forward, 46% of respondents project their bottom line will increase this year compared to 2023, 17% expect decreases in their bottom line, and 37% expect no change.

• While charitable donations are up, 61% of museums report that the number of individual donors to the museum has stayed the same or decreased in the last five years. This indicates a sustainability challenge that comports with the broader nonprofit sector and demonstrates the need to provide the charitable deduction for the vast majority of taxpayers who do not itemize.

• When asked what they anticipate to be the most significant disruptions to their business strategies in 2025, almost half of respondents identified shifts in philanthropy (48%) and financial/market instability (46%), followed by a reduction or elimination of government funding (33%).

This research makes clear that disruptions to philanthropy, market instability, and threats of reduction or elimination in government funding have the potential to radically impact an already fragile sector. While the museum field’s recovery from the pandemic is improving, significant support is still needed to secure this vital sector.

Download the full report.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan
media@aam-us.org

96% of people across all party lines want their legislators to support museums. Museum funding is not a partisan issue. Museums support all communities across our country regardless of political affiliation.

Together, we will chart a path forward that builds on our history of working with both political parties. Now is the time to join us because when we come together as an Alliance, there is no stopping what we can do. This was demonstrated clearly during the current and past administrations when we collaborated with legislators from across party lines to:

• In 2018, signficantly increase the budget for the Institute of Museum & Library Services for the first time in the nine years prior, despite repeated calls to eliminate IMLS, NEA, and NEH.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, earmark more than $200 million in financial relief for these agencies.
• Include museums in PPP and SVOG relief programs and received billions in financial support that saved thousands of museums and museum jobs.
• Increase appropriations to the Office of Museum Services (OMS) by 80% in the last ten years.

These wins would not have happened without the strong allies and bipartisan support that we have been building in Congress and around the country for years.

Together as a field, we’ve defeated several attempts to eliminate or de-fund federal agencies supporting museums. To ensure these threats don’t become a reality, we must keep speaking up for museums and the roles they play in the economic vitality of our communities.

We will keep fighting for funding for museums of all types and sizes and ensure that all legislators know the value of the work that you do.

What’s next:

Our government relations and advocacy team is working hard to provide you with a deeper analysis of what the election results could mean for museums, so be on the lookout for our next Alliance Advocacy Alert in the coming days.

Museums Advocacy Day registration opens soon. As this event has grown larger over the last several years, we’re moving venues to accommodate even more museum people who want to make the case for our field.

What you can do now:

If you do not currently receive Alliance Advocacy Alerts, sign up for them.

Use our quick template to urge your legislators to support FY 2025 OMS funding.

Share Your Connections: The AAM Government Relations & Advocacy staff looks forward to working with the new Congress. We know that you may already have connections with your new or returning members of Congress and hope you will share that information with us by filling out our Washington Connections Contact Form, so we can work together on outreach.

Join the Alliance. Your membership with AAM supports the work we do.

Through professional development and skill-building opportunities, MSIIP cohort museums will learn how to effectively leverage social impact data that helps make the case for museums to various stakeholders and funders. The long-term goal of this initiative is to enhance the entire museum field’s ability to use social impact data to advance their institutions through advocacy and build stronger, more informed relationships with their local community, funders, and stakeholders.

After a competitive application process, the museums selected to participate represent 25 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. They will engage in a multi-year study to measure and analyze their social and community impact that will include training around implementing a validated museum social impact survey and analyzing resulting data; joining monthly Community of Practice meetings; and utilizing and testing new advocacy tools that will help the field better use social impact data. Participant museums will be better able to measure their social impact, connect with their peers in the field conducting similar work, and advocate for their organizations based on their findings.

This group of institutions represents the diversity of America’s museums, from small, regional art museums and historic houses to larger institutions. It includes children’s museums, science centers, historic houses, anthropology museums, university museums, zoos, visitors centers, presidential libraries, and natural history museums.

• Asia Society Texas, Houston, TX

• Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, Indianapolis, IN

• Bronx Children’s Museum, Bronx, NY

• Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA

• Catfish Row Museum, Vicksburg, MS

• Charlotte Museum of History, Charlotte, NC

• Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH

• College Park Aviation Museum, College Park, MD

• Economy in Action, Dallas, TX

• Fairbanks Children’s Museum, Fairbanks, AK

• Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN

• Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI

• Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, CT

• Heritage Square Foundation, Phoenix, AZ

• Historic Alexandria, Alexandria, VA

• Juneau-Douglas City Museum, Juneau, AK

• Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, Kansas City, MO

• King Manor Museum, Jamaica, NY

• Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, CA

• Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem, PA

• Lewis Latimer House Museum, Flushing, NY

• Michael C. Carlos Museum, Atlanta, GA

• Milwaukee County Historical Society, Milwaukee, WI

• Molly Brown House Museum, Denver, CO

• Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA

• Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR

• Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM

• Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, CA

• Museum of Us (formerly San Diego Museum of Man), San Diego, CA

• National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN

• President Lincoln’s Cottage, Washington, DC

• The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA, Charlottesville, VA

• The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Palm Desert, CA

• The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ

• U.S. Navy Seabee Museum, Port Hueneme, CA

• UVU Museum of Art at Lakemount, Orem, UT

• Washakie Museum & Cultural Center, Worland, WY

• Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN

• Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX

• Wyoming State Museum, Cheyenne, WY

MSIIP is a three-year initiative led by AAM and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It builds on eight years of experience in groundbreaking work through the Measurement of Museum Social Impact (MOMSI) project, which concluded in 2023. With leadership from the Utah Division of Arts & Museums (UA&M) and Thanksgiving Point, MOMSI addressed the critical need to establish best practices for measuring social impact within the museum field, advancing museum practice by measuring the social impact museums have on visitors, and developing a valid tool for museums to better understand their social impact on individuals and communities.

This project is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, award number MG-252969-OMS-23.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, AAM has been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

AAM’s Alliance of 35,000 museums and museum professionals seeks to better our communities, and our world, through collaborative human-centered experiences, education, and connection to histories, cultures, the natural world, and one another.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan

media@aam-us.org

American Alliance of Museums

Arlington, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today announced 2 first time accreditations and 33 reaccreditation awards made at the June 2024 meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, 1,112 are currently accredited.

Through a rigorous process of self-assessment and review by their peers, these museums have demonstrated they meet standards and best practices and are educational entities that are appropriate stewards of the collections and resources they hold in the public trust. “Accreditation is a monumental achievement,” said Marilyn Jackson, AAM President & CEO. “The process demonstrates an institution’s commitment to best practice and is flexible enough to be accomplished by museums of any size.”

Recognized as the field’s gold standard for museum excellence for over 50 years, AAM accreditation signifies a museum’s quality and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies, and to the public. The Accreditation Program ensures the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforces the educational and public service roles of museums, and promotes good governance practices and ethical behavior. The program has been revised to be flexible, reduce the complexity of the process, and shorten the timeline while providing support and resources for any museum to consider becoming accredited.

First time Accreditation

• Peel Museum & Botanical Garden, Bentonville, AR
• The Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis, MN

Reaccreditation

• Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, Saint Joseph, MO
• Arkansas State University Museum, Jonesboro, AR
• Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, Lafayette, IN
• Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA
• Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME
• Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
• California Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA
• Concord Museum, Concord, MA
• Connecticut River Museum, Essex, CT
• Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA
• Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI
• Heritage Farmstead Museum, Plano, TX
• Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
• Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpon Springs, FL
• Massillon Museum, Massillon, OH
• McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX
• MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA
• Museum of Arts & Sciences, Daytona Beach, FL
• National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
• NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY
• Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
• Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA
• Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME
• Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, RI
• Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
• S’edav Va’aki Museum , Phoenix, AZ
• Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, OK
• Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
• South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, SD
• Tryon Palace, New Bern, NC
• Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, Winterthur, DE

To earn accreditation, a museum submits a self-study questionnaire and key operational documents for evaluation, then undergoes a site visit by a two-person team of peer reviewers which produces a report for the Accreditation Commission. The Commission uses these materials and its collective expertise to determine whether to grant accreditation.

The Accreditation Commission meets 3 times a year (February, June, and October) and can make one of the following decisions:

• Grant accreditation (usually for ten years)
• Table its decision for one year so specific issues can be addressed
• Deny accreditation due to failure to meet multiple Core Standards
• Defer a decision to gather additional information

A museum’s accredited status is not changed during a period in which a decision is tabled or deferred.

Read more about the Alliance’s Accreditation Program.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan

media@aam-us.org

Arlington, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM)—representing over 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, and museums of all types and sizes across the country—is profoundly disappointed that the U.S. House Republican leadership and appropriators retained a provision from last year making museums ineligible for Community Project Funding (also known as earmarks) in recently released guidance. Despite our field’s efforts—including advocating for the repeal of this ban during visits to Congressional offices during Museums Advocacy Day—the House Republican leadership has decided to continue to include last year’s museum earmark ban. Targeting museums is not only damaging to these educational institutions and the communities they serve, it is an affront to the 96 percent of Americans who are in favor of funding support for museums.

The recent House Republican rules go even further than last year’s by banning not just museums but our entire nonprofit community from receiving earmarks out of the Economic Development Initiative of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a repugnant reaction to some earmarks going to support several LGBTQ+ organizations in fiscal year 2024. None of these restrictions apply to the Senate earmark process where museums and nonprofits, including those serving the LGBTQ+ community, remain eligible.

Museum earmarks are used to serve critical needs in communities across the country including supporting K-12 education, funding energy efficient buildings to support the conservation of cultural heritage, and increasing tourism and economic development – projects that are vital to communities’ health and vitality.

Museums are economic engines, pumping more than $50 billion into the U.S. economy annually pre-pandemic, supporting over 726,000 American jobs, generating $12 billion in tax revenue, and spurring tourism from around the world. Nationally, museums spend more than $2 billion yearly on education activities, and the typical museum devotes 75% of its education budget to K-12 students. They are essential community infrastructure that have the support of 96 percent of Americans who think positively of their elected officials who take legislative action in support of museums.

Going forward, the Alliance will continue to urge the House Republican Leadership and appropriators to remove the ban and allow museums to compete for earmarks on their own merits as they always have.

AAM stands for the broad scope of the museum community. Museums are a robust and diverse cultural and business sector, including African American museums, aquariums, arboreta, art museums, botanic gardens, children’s museums, culturally-specific museums, historic sites, historical societies, history museums, maritime museums, military museums, natural history museums, planetariums, presidential libraries, public gardens, railway museums, science and technology centers, tribal museums, and zoos.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan

media@aam-us.org

Museum Board Leadership 2024: A National Report

Arlington, VA—The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today released findings from Museum Board Leadership 2024, a national report that serves as the second iteration of Museum Board Leadership 2017. The survey, conducted in partnership with Northern Trust and Slover Linett at NORC, was fielded September 20 through November 5, 2023, with responses from 1,062 museum directors and board members representing a broad cross-section of the museum field.

Knowing the essential role board members play in the vitality of our field, the first iteration of this report measured the performance of museum boards on a field-wide scale, taking a close look at diversity, culture, and finances. The 2024 report highlights the critical strides museum boards have taken with diversity and inclusion in recent years, as well as the many challenges and opportunities to further equity in the highest ranks of museum leadership and improve overall efficacy.

Key findings:

1. Boards have made meaningful progress in diversifying their ranks, and still have significant room for improvement. In 2017, nearly half (46%) of museum directors reported that their boards were entirely white (i.e., no people of color). With this iteration of the survey, 27% of directors report their boards as entirely white.
2. Boards and directors widely agree that diversity and inclusion is important to board performance. This sentiment has grown since the 2017 study. Directors’ assessments of board impact on organization performance corresponds with an increase in diversity across many demographic characteristics.
3. Most boards have engaged in conversations about diversity and inclusion, but many museums have not followed up on these discussions with concrete actions to promote diversity. Only 39% of boards have modified recruitment efforts to reach potential members from diverse backgrounds, and 33% of boards have modified organizational policies and procedures to be more inclusive and equitable.
4. There is relative parity in representation between men and women on boards, and a majority of directors are women. However, women are much more likely to direct smaller museums than men – about three-quarters of museums with revenues under $1 million are led by women directors.
5. Boards widely can improve their performance regarding fundraising, outreach, advocacy, and government relations. Average director ‘grades’ for their board’s performance in these areas range from C to D+, and board members agree that these are the greatest areas in need of improvement.
6. The museum field continues to face financial strain in the aftermath of the pandemic, with half of museums indicating at least one sign of financial distress. In the six months prior to completing the survey, half of museums either lost revenue or had to make difficult decisions on personnel, programs, or other expenditures (or all of the above). One-quarter of museums have dipped into their reserves or endowment to cover operating expenses.

Download the full report

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan
media@aam-us.org

ARLINGTON, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today announced that six leading professionals from the museum field have been newly elected to the board of directors, serving three-year terms beginning this May. The incoming board members are:

Rebekah Beaulieu, Ph.D., was named Louise Taft Semple President & CEO of the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, OH, in 2022. She has worked in museums for over two decades, previously serving as the director of the Florence Griswold Museum in Connecticut, as associate director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Maine, and as an assistant professor of Art History & Museum Studies at Connecticut College. Rebekah recently concluded a five-year term on the AAM Accreditation Commission and a four-year term as a council member of the American Association for State and Local History, where she served as treasurer.

Ellen Ferguson is the Director of Community Relations at the Burke Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Seattle, WA. She has worked at the museum in a variety of capacities since receiving her MA in Museum Studies at the University of Washington and has played an active role in the museum profession at the state, regional, and national levels—including with AAM—for decades. Ellen previously served as president of the Washington Museum Association board and on the board of the Western Museum Association, where she was a founding member of the Equity Committee and received the Director’s Chair Award for outstanding achievements in the museum profession. Ellen currently serves as board co-chair of the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian American Experience in Seattle.

Lori Fogarty has served as executive director of the Oakland Museum of California since 2006. Throughout her tenure, Lori has spearheaded OMCA’s efforts to place the visitor at the center of the museum experience and focus the institution’s efforts around community engagement and social impact. She has received major recognition in the museum and nonprofit field as the recipient of the John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership from AAM and the Hank Russo Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Prior to her current position, Lori worked as executive director of the Bay Area Discovery Museum and senior deputy director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Hassan Najjar is the executive director of Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO. Previously, he served as the executive director of the Museum Center at 5ive Points in Tennessee and held positions as an educator at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Tennessee and Rome Area History Museum in Georgia. Hassan is active in the business and cultural community in Colorado, serving on several boards and commissions. With 20 years of experience in the museum profession, he’s utilized mission-focused thinking and community input to create memorable museum experiences for learners of all ages.

Jennifer Ortiz is the director of the Utah Historical Society in Salt Lake City, where she oversees the building of the state’s first dedicated state history museum, the Museum of Utah, opening in 2026. In addition to her state-wide work, Jennifer serves at a national level as board member for the National Federation of State Humanities Councils and locally as board member for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Previously, Jennifer held positions at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Boston Museum of Science, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Jay Xu, Ph.D., has served director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco since 2008. He is the first Chinese American director at a major art museum in the United States. In 2015, Jay became the first Asian American museum director elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2022, he was appointed by the US Congress to serve as one of the eight commissioners on the Congressional Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. Jay has previously held positions at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Seattle Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Shanghai Museum.

The board also welcomes four returning board members for their second terms (2024-2027):

• Dina Bailey, CEO, Mountain Top Vision
• Carole Charnow, President & CEO, Boston Children’s Museum
• Ann Friedman, Founder & CEO, Planet Word
• Linda Harrison, Director & CEO, The Newark Museum of Art

In addition to Board Chair Jorge Zamanillo, Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino, and Immediate Past Chair Chevy Humphrey, President & CEO of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago—who both serve in their current board leadership roles through May 2025—the Alliance board announced the following officer appointments:

• Devon Akmon, Director, Michigan State University Museum and CoLab Studio, as Vice Chair and Secretary (2024-2025)
• Linda Harrison, Director & CEO, The Newark Museum of Art, as Treasurer (2024-2025)

See the full list of the Alliance’s board of directors.

The Alliance is grateful to the board members whose service ends this year: Nathan Richie, Director, Golden History Museum and Park (who served as Vice Chair & Secretary from 2023-2024) and Karol Wight, President & Executive Director, Corning Museum of Glass. Their leadership has been instrumental in fulfilling the Alliance’s mission and strategic goals.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan

media@aam-us.org

Arlington, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today announced 2 first time accreditations and 31 reaccreditation awards made at the February 2024 meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, 1,113 are currently accredited.

Through a rigorous process of self-assessment and review by their peers, these museums have demonstrated they meet standards and best practices, and are educational entities that are appropriate stewards of the collections and resources they hold in the public trust.

Recognized as the field’s gold standard for museum excellence for over 50 years, AAM accreditation signifies a museum’s quality and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. The Accreditation Program ensures the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforces the educational and public service roles of museums, and promotes good governance practices and ethical behavior.

First time Accreditation:

• Fairfield University Art Museum, Fairfield, CT
• Old Barracks Museum, Trenton, NJ

Reaccreditation:

• American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
• Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA
• Bennington Museum, Bennington, VT
• Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton,FL
• Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, California State University-Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Saint Michaels, MD
• Children’s Museum of Memphis, Memphis, TN
• Corpus Christi Museum of Science & History, Corpus Christi, TX
• Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
• Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
• Hermann-Grima & Gallier Historic Houses, New Orleans, LA
• History Colorado, Denver, CO
• Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA
• Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ
• New England Aquarium, Boston, MA
• New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, NM
• Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
• Old State House Museum, Little Rock, AR
• President Woodrow Wilson House, Washington, DC
• Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA
• Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art, California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
• Saint Louis Science Center, St. Louis, MO
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
• Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
• The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY
• The Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA
• The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT
• University Museums – Iowa State University, Ames, IA
• W.R. & C.V. Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
• West Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen, LA
• Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Wichita, KS

To earn accreditation, a museum submits a self-study questionnaire and key operational documents for evaluation, then undergoes a site visit by a two-person team of peer reviewers which produces a report for the Accreditation Commission. The Commission uses these materials and its collective expertise to determine whether to grant accreditation.

The Accreditation Commission meets 3 times a year (February, June, and October) and can make one of the following decisions:

• Grant accreditation (usually for 10 years)
• Table its decision for 1 year so specific issues can be addressed
• Deny accreditation due to failure to meet multiple Core Standards
• Defer a decision to gather additional information

A museum’s accredited status is not changed during a period in which a decision is tabled or deferred.

Read more about the Alliance’s Accreditation Program.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

###

Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan

media@aam-us.org

ARLINGTON, VA – The Board of Directors of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, today announced the individuals, programs, and institutions recognized for their leadership and excellence within the museum field. These honorees showcase the vital role that every museum professional plays in building thriving museums, strong communities, and a better world.

The AAM Awards and Recognition Program is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and relevant to the broad scope of the museum field, celebrating the vital work that propels our field forward. Awards are given to individuals, programs, and institutions for their exceptional impact within the field. For 2024, AAM Board Chair Jorge Zamanillo also announced a Chair’s Leadership Award, reserved for rare occasions to honor outstanding leadership and extraordinary accomplishments.

Awards will be presented at the 2024 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo in Baltimore, MD.

Chair’s Leadership Award

Carlos Tortolero and National Museum of Mexican Art

The National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) in Chicago, the first Latino museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is one of “the most prominent first-voice institutions for Mexican art and culture” in the US and home to one of the country’s largest Mexican art collections: more than 18,000 pieces from ancient Mexico to the present. Carlos Tortolero, Founder of the NMMA, recently announced his retirement following a decades-long career as President of the museum, where he was also a champion of Latino culture and heritage nationwide. Carlos leaves a lasting impact in the Chicago area and across the country, for his dedication to making the arts accessible for all.

Carlos founded the NMMA in 1982, and then directed its construction until its doors opened in 1987. Under Carlos, the museum’s four galleries and dedicated performing arts space flourished. His leadership saw the growth of the museum’s permanent collection to 20,000 pieces, the establishment and growth of the museum’s endowment, and creation of award-winning youth arts programming. A lifelong champion of the arts and humanities, he was an active and engaged member of the arts and humanities community writ large. He has served on the boards of numerous educational, cultural organization, and local arts and humanities organizations, including the American Alliance of Museums, and he is the recipient of several honorary degrees. He was also awarded the City of Chicago’s highest honor in the arts, The Fifth Star Award, and has received the Chicago History Museum’s History Makers Award, among other accolades. In addition to authoring several books and articles, Carlos is a Co-Founder of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance; an original member and a catalyst of Enrich Chicago, which strives to eliminate racism in the arts; and creator of the national organization, Mexican Cultural Arts Alliance.

In 2020, the Ford Foundation named the NMMA as one of America’s Cultural Treasures and in 2021, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott awarded the NMMA $8 million for their exemplary work. Now, having left his indelible mark on the museum and on our field, Carlos looks forward to new leaders continuing to make Latino arts and culture accessible to all—while he leans into his role as grandfather.

Distinguished Service Award

Doug Jones, Director, Florida Museum of Natural History

Doug Jones is an exemplary leader of natural history museums and a renowned expert in paleontology who has created a thriving, first-of-its kind natural history museum. He is the longest-serving director of any major natural history museum in the United States.

Doug earned a PhD in Geological and Geophysical Sciences from Princeton and quickly became known for his scientific research in evolutionary paleontology. After joining the museum as faculty curator of Invertebrate Paleontology, he led the growth of its collections to become one of the largest scientific research collections of its kind in the US. Since 1997, with Doug’s leadership, the Florida Museum of Natural History has doubled the size of its staff. Currently with more than 30 full-time research curators plus collections management staff, caring for and curating approximately 50 million specimens, the museum has one of the largest scientific staffs of its kind in the country. Each year, a diverse group of over 100 undergraduate and graduate students work in the collections, many of whom are training to be the next generation of museum professionals. Doug is a forceful advocate for staff development, encouraging them to broaden their impact on society. This approach has grown the institution from a regional museum to have a statewide footprint and national recognition, including mentoring and STEM education programs in public K-12 schools (particularly Title I) in more than 40 Florida counties. During his tenure as Director, museum visitation has more than doubled to a quarter million annually.

In addition to authoring many widely cited publications, considered classics in the field of paleontology, Doug has held numerous leadership positions in paleontology, such as co-editor of the international flagship journal, Paleobiology. He has been elected a Fellow of the Paleontological Society and the Geological Society of America. He’s served on the boards of the American Alliance of Museums (including as Board Chair), the Association of Science and Technology Centers, and the Natural Science Collection Alliance—attesting to his valued service to the broad museum community. He has also served as president of the Florida Association of Museums and the Association of Science Museum Directors.

Nancy Hanks Award for Rising Stars

Amber Angeloni, Manager of Visitor Experience, The Cummer Museum

After growing up in Northwest Arkansas, pursuing a degree in Art Education, and four years in the classroom, Amber Angeloni relocated and found her niche in museum visitor services. She has worked at Mystic Aquarium, Chrysler Museum of Art, and since 2021 in a visitor experience role at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, where she is now Visitor Experience Manager. In January 2023, Amber launched the museum’s successful Gallery Host Program, which measurably improved visitor satisfaction by transforming traditional gallery security positions into Gallery Hosts, trained to educate and converse with visitors about art, in addition to policies. In addition to daily engagement with visitors, Amber and the Gallery Host team developed successful public tours designed around a range of topics to boost engagement from more diverse groups in the community and foster a greater sense of belonging for visitors. Amber believes strongly in the transformative power of museums and gardens to meet visitors where they are, the impact that staff can have on the visitor experience, and the ways that staff can help form connections between visitors (and their daily experiences) to collections.

Roberto C. Chavez, Educator for Children and Family Learning, American Museum of Natural History

Roberto C. Chavez (he/him) is a museum educator for Children and Family Learning at the American Museum of Natural History and the creator of “Gifts My Students Gave Me.” Previously, he worked at the Intrepid Museum, King Manor Museum, the New-York Historical Society, the New York Transit Museum, and the Tenement Museum. Roberto volunteers for the New York City Museum Educators Roundtable (NYCMER), Queer GLAM Workers, and AMNH PRIDE. At the NYCMER Annual Conference, Roberto has previously presented on teaching LGBTQ history, teaching neurodivergent students as a neurodivergent educator, living with sudden and chronic illnesses, and designing accessibility resources.

Andre LuJan, Director, Texas Through Time

Andre LuJan is a professional paleontologist from Dallas, Texas, and CEO of his company PaleoTex, founded in 2016. In 2018 Andre & his wife Carrie founded Texas Through Time, a nonprofit museum where the public and researchers can access hundreds of fossils from the region. Andre has extensive experience preparing, mounting, casting and providing professional paleontology services, and is a recognized paleontology expert across many media outlets and written publications. With a lifelong passion and pursuit of paleontology, Andre has worked with experts and institutions around the world, is called on for his expertise— especially on Cretaceous and Permian animals of Texas, and has even discovered a new genus of dinosaurs and several new species.

Tamara Maxey, Curator/Grant Writer, Gold Nugget Museum

Tamara Maxey received her M.A. in anthropology with a museum studies focus from the California State University, Chico in 2019. Her first position was as the Operations and Facilities Manager at the Chico Children’s Museum, and within two years she was promoted to Executive Director. After the museum’s COVID-related closure, Tamara assumed a new role as Curator of the Gold Nugget Museum (GNM) in Paradise, California, which had lost its original site to the Camp Fire of 2018. When Tamara joined the GNM, the entire organization was in a state of rebuilding, being re-imagined from the ground up. As Curator, she has guided modernization process for the collections, and for exhibits policies and procedures, contributing to her professional growth as she navigates a rewarding, but challenging process, while engaging a variety of stakeholders.

Chris Morehead, Director of Experience and Operations, Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

Chris Morehead has held numerous positions at Newsfields over his nine-year tenure overseeing and leading the exponential growth of the Guest Experience, Volunteerism, and Community Engagement Departments. Chris worked with volunteers and staff to redesign the volunteer program, including volunteerism in all aspects of campus operations. His community engagement work has been integral to the museum’s partnerships with organizations dedicated to supporting underserved and under-resourced communities throughout Central Indiana. With engagement of fifty community partners, the communities themselves, and the Newfields Community Advisory Committee, these strategic partnerships helped form seventeen community access programs that spurred record annual access program visitation, with participation of over 100,000 members of the community. Chris is the President for the American Association for Museum Volunteers, past President for the Central Indiana Association of Volunteer Administrators, Circular Indiana Board Member, and a past President of Indy Pride, Inc. Chris is also a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacey Executive Leadership Series and current participant in the Diversity in Leadership Program, focused on developing the next generation of diverse executive leaders.

Miguel Ordeñana, Senior Manager, Community Science, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC)

Miguel Ordeñana is an environmental educator and wildlife biologist. He works at the NHMLAC ‘s Community Science office as a Senior Manager, where he promotes and creates community science projects—ranging in topics from environmental justice to biodiversity research—and recruits and trains participants. Miguel conducts urban mammal research in Los Angeles, leading the NHMLAC’s Southern California Squirrel Survey and Backyard Bat Survey, advises on a jaguar project he initiated in southwestern Nicaragua in 2012, and serves as a Board Member for the Friends of Griffith Park and National Wildlife Federation. Miguel is dedicated to making science and access to nature more equitable, with a goal of increasing the representation and retention of underrepresented communities within the environmental and museum field. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Southern California, and a M.S. in Ecology from the University of California Davis.

Joshua Ramirez, Associate Education Specialist, Youth Programs, J. Paul Getty Museum & Founder and Director of Saint Remy Arts and Culture

Joshua Ramirez is a brown-indigenous social practice artist, museum arts administrator, and cultural practitioner based in Los Angeles County, where he currently works in Youth Development Programs at the J. Paul Getty Center. Using his own mental illness and disability as a platform to pursue systemic change, Joshua began Saint Remy Arts & Culture, a nonprofit organization that merges advocacy and the creative process of art to provide transformative and cultural spaces for individuals with mental illness, PTSD, and suicidal thoughts. By leading through the lens of authenticity and empathy, he uses his unique experience to mentor at-risk youth, advocate for artists with disabilities, and create social impact programming for traditionally underrepresented communities. In his own practice, Joshua explores the complexity of the human condition across themes of abandonment, past trauma, and working-class race relations in the US through photography, sculpture, and painting. He sits on the board of NAMI Pomona Valley and advises national and local organizations, such as Americans for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Museum of Modern Art, Department of Cultural Affairs-Los Angeles, Depression and Bipolar Alliance, California Arts Council & Tri-City Mental Health. He has a B.A. in art from the University of Southern California and an M.A. in art education.

KT Todd, Director of Learning & Research, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

Dr. KT Todd is Director of Learning and Research at Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, where they lead a portfolio of research, evaluation, and professional development projects dedicated to centering equity and justice at the intersection of research and practice in museums. KT has more than 15 years of experience conducting social science research, nearly 10 years of experience in museums, and is an advocate for culturally responsive research and evaluation practice that adds value for participants and actively disrupts inequities. Their work explores liberatory efforts around race, gender, dis/ability, and LGBTQIA issues—building synergies for coordinated equity work across identities and issues. Their approach recognizes that systemic change requires interrogating both the external work we do with visitors and the internal ways we organize and lead our museums; additionally, it necessitates time for relationship-building and healing alongside actively striving for improvement.

Stephen White, Esq., Chief Strategy Officer, Center for Science and Industry (COSI)

Stephen White is Chief Strategy Officer at COSI, where he oversees optimization of the organization’s entrepreneurial business model; implements a global strategy for public partnerships at the city, state, and federal levels; and leads the execution of COSI’s Strategic Plan and business development. During his seven years in the museum field, Stephen championed the theory of “Servant Learning” as an engagement strategy during the COVID pandemic crisis, and has been an exemplary model in how to serve communities and bridge the education gap and digital divide. A signature initiative of his has been the Learning Lunchbox model of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM), with a program providing informal learning kits to over 350,000 underserved youth globally. The kits—developed in partnership with the White House, NASA, U.S. Department of Energy, and more—were delivered alongside critical human services such as foodbanks. Stephen has over a decade experience in partnerships and policy, including serving as General Counsel in the U.S. Senate, where he worked on critical public policy to address workforce development and education. As a first-generation student, he earned three degrees from The Ohio State University—a B.A. in English and Political Science, J.D., and M.A. in Public Policy and Management—as well as a Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has been an adjunct law professor, served on several state and federal boards, and has had numerous speaking engagements on strategies to address workforce development and education equity.

Recognition for the Advancement of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion

With the acknowledgment that diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) work is necessarily ongoing and iterative, this recognition highlights important and noteworthy work that is driving impact and making a difference both internally through museum workplace culture, programs, and policies and externally through engagement with museum audiences and communities. Multiple individuals, programs/initiatives, and organizations may be recognized in a given year.

Recognition for Individuals:

Jenni Martin, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose

With almost 30 years in the museum field, Jenni Martin’s deep commitment to equity and inclusion practices is inspired by her many years of work with different ethnic and immigrant communities in the diverse community of San Jose, CA. Grounded in experiential and inquiry-based learning, Jenni provides strategic vision and direction for museum-wide initiatives at Children’s Discovery Museum, including major exhibition projects and programming, museum partnerships and collaborations, organizational change, and museum-research partnerships. She has spearheaded the museum’s Latino, Vietnamese and Autism Community Development Initiatives, including launching Common Ground, a program to facilitate dialogue and exhibit co-creation among families recently emigrated from China, India, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Jenni also co-founded the Cultural Competence Learning Institute, a professional development institute for museum teams focused on equity, inclusion, accessibility, and diversity, which has served over 47 museums and 175 individuals since 2013. Learnings from the many communities, museums, and years will be shared in CCLI’s soon-to-be-launched 10-course online curriculum, Actionable Insights.

Kajette Solomon, Social Equity and Inclusion Specialist, RISD Museum

Kajette Solomon’s role as RISD Museum’s first Social Equity and Inclusion Specialist endeavors to shape, implement, and manage the museum’s efforts to build an equitable, diverse, and inclusive institution for all. Kajette is an American Association of Museum Volunteers board member, and a graduate of the inaugural class of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Equity Leadership Initiative professional development program. Kajette is co-curator of the exhibition, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch, as well as co-editor of the accompanying publication. She holds a B.A. in Art History from Arcadia University and M.A. in Modern and Contemporary Art History, Theory, and Criticism from Purchase College.

Recognition for Programs:

COSI: Color of Science

Launched at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and continued today at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), The Color of Science is an innovative science interest and literacy program that invites the public to engage with individuals in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). By spotlighting the stories of remarkable individuals from diverse backgrounds, the program delivers a powerful message: “science is for everyone.” The program is anchored by two free signature events: a “passport” experience for students from diverse, urban schools; and an evening panel discussion for adults and students alike. These events are enhanced by year-round initiatives integrated into COSI’s onsite, online, and community-based experiences that promote the values and critical messages of the program.

Boston Children’s Museum: You, Me, We!

Boston Children’s Museum opened You, Me, We! (YMW) in February 2023. The exhibit was developed in response to, and in support of, needs expressed by parents and caregivers. YMW offers thoughtful guidance and tools to engage children as they begin to perceive, explore, and question complex topics such as identity, fairness, stereotyping, and discrimination. This exhibit represents a chance to move beyond “tolerance” and “acceptance” to celebration of similarities and differences that make up people in our communities and the world around us. Active and ongoing engagement will ensure sustained relevance and vibrancy in the exhibit and in associated programs. YMW helps children build cultural competence at an early age, laying the groundwork for a greater level of understanding and compassion, which will ripple forward for generations.

Art Bridges Cohort (Smithsonian American Art Museum, Western Museum Partners): Many Wests

Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea presents an opportunity to examine previous misconceptions, question racist clichés, and highlight the multiple communities and histories that continue to form this iconic region of the United States. Working in various media, from painting and sculpture to photography and mixed media, the artists featured bring a nuanced and multifaceted history to light. Many Wests highlights many voices, especially those of artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian American, Latinx, and LGBTQ+. These include Rick Bartow (Wiyot), Ka’ila Farrell-Smith (Klamath Modoc), V. Maldonado, Rubén Trejo, and Marie Watt (Seneca), among others. These artists reveal that “the West” has always been a place of multiple stories, experiences, and cultures.

The curatorial project, a collaborative work, included artworks from the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM); the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon (Eugene, OR); Boise Art Museum (Boise, ID); Utah Museum of Fine Arts (Salt Lake City, UT); and the Whatcom Museum (Bellingham, WA) and was made possible by the Art Bridges Foundation.

Recognition for Institutions:

First Americans Museum

The mission of the First Americans Museum (FAM) is to serve as a dynamic center promoting awareness and educating the broader public about the unique cultures, diversity, history, contributions, and resilience of the First American Nations in Oklahoma today.

Today, 39 distinct, culturally and linguistically diverse tribal nations reside in Oklahoma. As an institution whose foundational purpose is to celebrate this diversity, FAM takes pride in guiding guests to connect with the history of the land on which it is situated and people. That commitment flows within all dimensions of the institution, from hiring to curatorial programming and community engagement. FAM staff is comprised of individuals who come from many different cultural backgrounds, but most are citizens of Tribal Nations. Such proximity to the needs of First Americans is essential to the museum’s work in centering knowledge and teachings. However, FAM staff recognize that the First Americans story is one that resonates with marginalized people worldwide, and their accessible facilities provide dynamic platforms for cultural engagement and education for staff and visitors. Galleries were designed specifically for knowledge accessibility, catering to all learning abilities and styles. Uniquely, the OKLA HOMMA gallery offers intertwined chronological, visual, and audible learning tracks to help explain the complex history of First Americans in Oklahoma. Going forward, FAM is committed to continue this careful work, to ensure that all have access to learning a history that often goes untold.

About the 2024 AAM Awards Program

Over the past several years, to better highlight and celebrate the museum professional community in all its diversity, AAM has been redesigning an awards program that aligns with the organization’s strategic framework and centers equity and inclusion.

In 2023, updates intended to make AAM awards and recognition programs more accessible, inclusive, and relevant to the museum field were successfully piloted. Those updates included:

• A streamlined, more accessible nominations process
• Expanded eligibility for recognition
• Recognition of multiple honorees in certain categories to better highlight the scope of exemplary work across all types of museums and roles in the museum field

AAM’s revitalized awards program is designed to create more opportunities to celebrate the vital role that every museum professional plays in building thriving museums, strong communities, and a better world.

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

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Press Contact:

Natanya Khashan
media@aam-us.org