Rebuilding the Barn While It's Still on Fire: Museum Leadership in a Season of Survival
Funding cuts, political attacks, post-pandemic exhaustion - museum leaders are trying to rebuild the barn while the fire's still burning. As Director of AASLH's History Leadership Institute, I talk regularly with leaders across the country. We discuss the big things - the need for systemic changes in the world and what a museum's role can be. But here's what I've learned. Survival mode is killing our larger ambitions and keeping us in a holding pattern. Breaking out requires making small but important changes to the way we leaders show up every day. In this session, I'll share seemingly small strategies that can add up to revolutionary changes for museums and their larger impact.
Andrea Jones is an independent consultant and master educator with over 20 years experience as a change agent and strategist. She works with museums across the country to reinvent storytelling and interpretive methods and support the development of empathetic museum leaders. She is the current Director of the History Leadership Institute, an intensive leadership development program run by the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH). She held previous leadership positions with Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum, Accokeek Foundation, and the Atlanta History Center.
MUSEUMS AND CHANGE is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.Topic: MUSEUMS AND CHANGETime: Sep 10, 2026 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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