2025 Conference Program
Tuesday, June 10
Tentative Schedule – Subject to change
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
9:00 am – Exhibit Hall Opens
9:30 – 11:30 am – Introductions & Keynote
12:00 – 1:30 pm – Advocacy Lunch
1:45 – 3:00 pm
Bring Me A Hire Love: HR Basics For Museums
Presenters:
- Dylan High, Statewide Partnerships Coordinator, Washington State Historical Society
- Jo Wolf, Executive Director, Skagit County Historical Museum
- Aletheia Wittman, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Officer, Washington State Historical Society
- Michael Ide, HR Generalist, National Nordic Museum
Interns, contractors, employees, oh my! In this session, we’ll discuss some basic HR practices and tips for bringing new talent onboard at your organization. Whether you have never had a paid employee or are thinking of revisiting your existing HR procedures, this session will focus on practical solutions for recruitment, onboarding, payroll, timesheets, and more.
Turning Crisis Into Opportunity: A Journey In Exhibition Creation
Presenters:
- Morganne Pockels, Collections Manager, Columbia Gorge Museum
- Louise Palermo, Executive Director, Columbia Gorge Museum
In late 2023, an unexpected leak in Columbia Gorge Museum’s (CGM) basement storage prompted a deep dive into the museum’s neglected collections. What began as a crisis revealed itself to be a unique opportunity to reimagine CGM’s exhibitions as well as its collections care and community engagement strategies.
This session will explore how CGM staff turned an emergency into a pivotal moment for transformation. With minimal resources but maximum determination, the team addressed long-standing challenges including pest infestations, roof repairs, unsafe storage spaces, and lack of reliable documentation. Discover how the uncovering of artifacts from the Baron Eugene Fersen Collection- including a 10-foot portrait by renowned Latvian artist, Janis Rozentals, inspired the museum’s most significant exhibition to date.
Attendees will learn about the process of creating Svetozar: The Early Life of Baron Eugene Fersen, which opened at CGM in October 2024. The session covers cleaning and cataloging artifacts, conducting historical research, engaging with the community, and designing an exhibition on a limited budget and time frame. Gain insights into how small museums can turn challenges into opportunities, ensuring collections are preserved and stories are shared for generations to come.
Building Bridges: Strengthening Partnerships Between Museums & Indigenous Communities
Presenters:
- Robin Little Wing Sigo, Executive Director, Suquamish Foundation
- Korum Bischoff, Executive Director, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
Museums are increasingly called to build deeper, more meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities. But how do these relationships grow from initial conversations into lasting collaborations? Connected by a bridge, this session explores the journey of partnership between two neighboring communities, the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) and the Suquamish Tribe, focusing on the challenges, successes, and lessons learned along the way.
Panelists will discuss:
- Building Trust: How to approach Indigenous communities with humility, openness, and respect.
- Creating Inclusive Partnerships: Moving from personal relationships to institutional collaborations that amplify Indigenous voices.
- Sustaining Long-Term Connections: How to maintain relationships beyond individual events or exhibitions.
- Challenges and Triumphs: Honest reflections on the obstacles and successes of working together.
This session will provide valuable insights for museum professionals and anyone interested in fostering authentic, respectful partnerships with Indigenous communities, offering practical advice for turning good intentions into lasting, impactful collaboration.
Confidence-Building For Disaster & Climate Resiliency Planning
Presenters:
- Allison Campbell, Heritage Outreach Manager, Washington State Historical Society
- Sarah Sutton, CEO, Environment & Culture Partners
- Danielle Sakowski, Program Manager, Environment & Culture Partners
From burst pipes to more extreme and frequent weather events, museums are planning for it all. It can feel overwhelming, yet museums have the power, tools, and partnership to overcome the anxiety and take action. In this session you’ll learn the components of a successful emergency response plan, as well as the kinds of response resources and networks available to museums locally. Then you’ll learn how to assess your local climate risks, build a climate resilience strategy, and minimize damage from climate-related events with the Climate Resilience Resources for Cultural Heritage toolkit. There will also be a discussion on forming your own emergency response network and building climate resilience planning partnerships.
3:15 – 4:30 pm
Everything Old Is New Again
Presenters:
- Tara McCauley, Executive Director, Jefferson County Historical Society
- Marriah Thornock, Executive Director, Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center
This session features perspectives from two Washington museums at various stages of large-scale capital projects to reimagine their museum buildings, exhibitions, and public spaces to better serve their communities. From initial idea to concept development, planning, design, fundraising, and implementation, presenters will share how community involvement is at the core of this work.
The Jefferson County Historical Society is reimagining the Museum of Art + History to utilize the entire museum as one large, flexible exhibition space where all exhibitions will focus around one main topic each year, exploring that theme through art, archive materials, and historic collections. The Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center is reimagining their exhibits, spaces, and processes to connect people to history, art, science, and culture in ways that broaden perspectives and offer new experiences.
Join the directors at the helm on these exciting projects for a lively discussion about working with and for the community to bring new visions to life.
Empowering Youth Through Culture & Trust
Presenter:
- Lisa Jackson, Museum Director, Suquamish Museum
This engaging talk will delve into the vital role of cultural arts, interactive icebreakers, and innovative educational strategies in empowering youth. Attendees will gain valuable insights into how these elements foster connection and trust, both among young people and with their communities. Key takeaways include a list of strategies to be implemented in your community, transform traditional teaching methods to enhance trust and connection, understand the power of ice breakers, effectively engage with youth, and build community trust. By the end of this talk, attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how to create a nurturing environment that empowers youth through culture, fosters trust, and strengthens community connections.
Cross-Pollination: Supporting Early-Career Professionals Collaboration In Museums
Moderator:
- Victoria Shim, Collections Assistant, Museum of Pop Culture
Panelists:
- Anna Cavagnaro, Exhibits Fabricator, Museum of Pop Culture
- Amanda Diaz, Exhibits Graphic Designer, Museum of Pop Culture
- Shuprima Guha, Curatorial Assistant, Museum of Pop Culture
We discuss the importance of early-career museum professionals helping and learning from each other in our roundtable, composed of peers from MOPOP’s Design, Collection, Exhibits, and Curatorial team. We illustrate how each person collaborates across teams with fellow early-career coworkers, highlighting the successes and learning experiences that have bolstered our efficiencies and improved work dynamics.
In this roundtable, we talk about creating such collaboration opportunities and developing projects that allow early-career peers to build working relationships. We relieve pressure from our supervisors (who are conventionally held as point people for the department), saving everyone additional time. We discuss the changing workplace dynamics for early-career peers and have an honest discussion of how people more tenured in the field can support us. Alongside, as the museum field becomes increasingly diverse, we support DEIA initiatives by creating open dialogue, letting people bring their individuality into the workplace without being tokenized.
In the end, we believe all exhibits are collaborative and reflect each other’s work. As the future of museums, we want to open the floor to questions listeners have not only about collaboration, but also about how young professionals can be supported in museums.
America250: Hoorah or Nah? Meeting Your Community Where They’re At
Moderator:
- Dylan High, Statewide Partnerships Coordinator, Washington State Historical Society
Panelists:
- Natasha Varner, Heritage Program Manager, 4Culture
- Nancy Salguero-McKay, Executive Director, Highline Heritage Museum
- Allison Campbell, Local History Services, Washington State Historical Society
- Polly Olsen, Director, DEAI & Decolonization and Tribal Liaison, Burke Museum
The American semiquincennential (America250) in 2026 offers opportunities for both celebration of the history of the country as well as reflection on the negative consequences our history continues to have on certain communities today. What role can history & heritage organizations play in providing opportunities to celebrate while also including and honoring other perspectives that complicate our shared history? How do we communicate about these events with a range of audiences in mind? Join us for a discussion and ideas-sharing session on engaging your community in the nuances of history.