The Inclusive Museum Leader

The Inclusive Museum Leader offers insights and perspectives from two recognized museum leaders who have joined together to offer practical solutions and opportunities responding to the call for museums to play an active social justice role.

The museum field is experiencing a critical gaze that is both “of the moment” and long overdue. Museums were built as colonial enterprises and are slow to awaken to the harm caused by their actions which are not limited to the capturing and keeping of Indigenous ancestors, the exclusion and erasure of Black voices, bodies, and creativity, and the positioning of white power in the C-suite and board rooms. For decades, the conversation about equity and inclusion in the museum field has become louder. It is no longer possible to ignore the systemic racism embedded in our society and our profession.

The Inclusive Museum Leader offers insights and perspectives from two recognized museums leaders who have joined together to offer practical solutions and opportunities for today’s museum leaders. Authors share their journeys to becoming inclusive leaders, as well as decisions they have made and actions they have taken to build equitable practices within their organizations.

Throughout the book are personal exercises and provocations the reader is invited to respond to, making the book a valuable tool for any museum leader looking to enhance their style and re-frame their decision-making process.

Frontmatter

Quotes

Preface

PART ONE - SETTING THE STAGE

1. With Fierce Intention

by Joanne Jones-Rizzi (she/her)

Black/bi-racial/queer/cisgender/no known disabilities

2. The Three-Body Problem of Museums

by Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko (she/her)

White/female/straight/cisgender/middle class/no known disabilities

3. Creating the Just Leader: Inclusive Leadership and Organizational Justice

by Chris Taylor (he/him)

biracial/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

4. Two Change Agents, Two Cups of Coffee: A Conversation between Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Chris Taylor

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Chris Taylor

Examining Implicit Bias Activity

PART TWO - CHANGE IS REQUIRED

5. Anatomy of a Movement

by Armando Perla (he/him)

POC/Latinx/male/queer/cisgender/living with disabilities

6. How Should Inclusive Museum Leadership Respond to COVID-(16)19?

by Omar Eaton-Martínez (he/him)

Black Puerto Rican/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

7. Hope is Not a Metaphor: An Annotated Guide to 25 Essential Skills for Museum Leaders

by Lisa Yun Lee (she/her)

Asian/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

8. 2020: A Harsh Teacher for Leaders

by Terri Lee Freeman (she/her)

Black/female/cisgender/no known disabilities

9. Doing the Work: Because Checking the Box is not Enough

by Dina A. Bailey (she/her)

biracial/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

10. To Be of Use and Beloved: A Conversation with Kelly McKinley

Kelly McKinley (she/her)

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

The Johari Window Activity

PART THREE - INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP

11. Dear White Colleague: Thoughts on Inclusive Museum Leadership from a Colleague of Color

by Lisa Sasaki (she/her)

Asian American/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

12. Beyond a Scarcity Mindset: My Path Toward Inclusive Leadership

by Ashley Rogers (she/her)

White/female/cisgender/no known disabilities

13. Diary of a Woke Latina Leader

by Susana Smith Bautista (she/her)

White/Latina/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Developing Self Awareness Activity

14. Motion Sickness: Care, Compassion, and the Future of Museums

by Esme Ward

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

15. 8:46:40

by Devon M. Akmon (he/him)

Arab American/male

16. Grounded in Community: A Conversation with Stacey Halfmoon

Stacey Halfmoon (she/her)

American Indian/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

The Ladder of Inference Activity

PART FOUR – VALUES AND ACTION

17. Inclusive Design Centers Disabled People’s Agency

by Beth Ziebarth (she/her)

disabled/female/white/straight/cisgender

18. Begin with the End in Mind: Inclusion as a Core Museum Practice

by LaNesha DeBardelaben (she/her)

Black/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

19. Museum Leaders as Allies for Queer Inclusion

by Margaret Middleton (they/them)

White/genderqueer/no known disabilities

20. Leading Change at the Speed of Trust: A Conversation with Ben Garcia

Ben Garcia (he/him)

Latinx/cisgender/queer/no known disabilities

Identifying Values Activity

PART FIVE - CHOOSING YOUR ENVIRONMENT

21. How to Spot an Inclusive Leader and Choose to Work for Them

by Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell (she/her)

Black/biracial/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

22. Teaching the Change We Want to See: A Conversation with Faculty at Museum Training Programs

Elizabeth Kryder-Reid (she/her)

​White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Stacey Mann (she/her)

White/female/cisgender/no known disabilities

Therese Quinn (she/her/they/them)

queer/cisgendered female/labeled White, aiming to be a race traitor/raised working class, still paycheck-to-paycheck

Cynthia Robinson (she/her)

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Mattie Reynolds (she/her)

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma/female/straight

Gretchen Sullivan Sorin (she/her)

African American/female

23. Helping Boards to See Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Clearly: A Conversation with Naree Viner

Naree W.S. Viner (she/her)

Asian/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

24. Practical Ambition: Positioning Inclusive Board Member Ethic as Basic Board Duty

by Tonya M. Matthews (she/her/dr)

African-American/female/straight/cisgender/hidden disability

25. Building Inclusivity With and Within the Board

by Lori Fogarty

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Taking Inventory Activity

PART SIX - LOOKING AHEAD

26. What Kind of Ancestor Will I Be?

by Bob Beatty (he/him)

White/male/straight/cisgender/single-sided deafness from infancy

27. Stepping Out to Step In: A Conversation with nikhil trivedi

nikhil trivedi (he/him)

South Asian/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities/middle class/raised working class/Hindu/US citizen

28. A Call to Action: Putting Inclusion to Work

by Robert ‘Bert’ Davis (he/him)

African American/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Developing Your Leadership Philosophy Activity

End Matter

Epilogue

Author Bios