2019-2020
Washington Museum Association
Board Officers
WaMA is operated through the efforts of an all-volunteer Board of museum professionals and supporters from across Washington. Board meetings are hosted each quarter by different museums throughout the state.
President
Sadie Thayer
Director
Kittitas County Historical Museum, Ellensburg WA
Expires 2022; Not Eligible for re-election, Position 11
► Bio
Sadie Thayer is currently the Director of the Kittitas County Historical Museum in Ellensburg, a position she has held since 2010. She received a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies with a focus in Collections Management from George Washington University in 2009. Prior to that, she obtained two Bachelor of Arts degrees (Anthropology with Museum Studies Specialization, and History) from Central Washington University in 2007. She has been very active in the Ellensburg Morning Rotary Club, where she served as President, 2017-2018.
1st Vice President
Katie Buckingham
Curator
Museum of Glass, Tacoma WA
Expires 2021; Eligible for re-election, Position 10
► Bio
Katie Buckingham has been a part of the curatorial team at Museum of Glass since 2012, where she works to develop exhibitions, research collections, and coordinate the Visiting Artist residency program. She provides mentorship to graduate students through UW Museology’s Emerging Curator Initiative. Prior to working at Museum of Glass, she worked at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, and has completed projects for Seattle Aquarium, Bellevue Arts Museum and Woodland Park Zoo. She received an MA in Museology from University of Washington, and a BA with Honors in Art History from Whitman College.
2nd Vice President
Brooke Wagner
Registrar
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane WA
Expires 2021; Eligible for re-election, Position 1
► Bio
With over 15 years in the fields of museums and galleries, Brooke is the Exhibits Manager and Registrar at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) in Spokane. She has previously held positions at the Tacoma Art Museum, the Foster/White Gallery, the Burke Museum, and the Priest Lake Museum. She has her Master’s from the Museology program at the University of Washington and has been at the MAC for the last decade in one form or another. She loves keeping track of her thousands of super cool objects and her career goal is to make collections sexy. She resides in Spokane with her husband and son and when she is not working she is hiking, biking, running, reading or making.
Treasurer
Anna Goodwin
Collections Manager
Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale WA
Expires 2021; Eligible for re-election, Position 12
► Bio
Anna Goodwin has been the Collections Manager/Registrar at Maryhill Museum of Art since 2013. Previously she served as NAGPRA collections specialist at the Museum of Northern Arizona, where she prepared archaeological materials for a major repatriation effort with the Coconino National Forest and the Hopi Tribe. She has worked at museums throughout the country, including Fort Sumter National Monument, the Logan Museum of Anthropology, the Wright Museum of Art, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota. She received her Master’s degree in Historical Administration from Eastern Illinois University and her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, Classics, and Museum Studies from Beloit College.
President Emeritus/Membership Secretary
Freya Liggett
Curator of History
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane WA
Expires 2020; Not Eligible for re-election, Position 9
► Bio
Freya is currently the Curator of History at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Linfield College. She also serves on the Heritage Capital Projects Advisory Panel and the review committee for the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau. Freya was the Museum Manager at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center (Moses Lake, WA) for over 11 years, and the Curator/Archivist at the Bayside Historical Society (Queens, NY) for five years. In 2019 she will celebrate 20 years in the museum field. Freya is passionate about small museums, and the communities they serve. Outside of work Freya enjoys spending time on the water.
Director
Elizabeth P. Stewart
Museum Director
Renton History Museum, Renton WA
Expires 2020; Not Eligible for re-election, Position 3
► Bio
Elizabeth P. Stewart has been the Director of the Renton History Museum in Renton, WA since 2006. She was previously Research Historian for a state-operated African American history museum, the Banneker-Douglass Museum, in Annapolis, MD for six years. She has a B.A. from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in American History from American University in Washington, DC. While completing her degrees, Elizabeth worked at McKissick Museum in Columbia, SC and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. She chaired 4Culture’s Heritage Advisory Committee from 2011 to 2013 and serves as a peer reviewer for AAM’s Museum Assessment Program.
Director
Richard Beckerman
Principal
Richard Beckerman Consulting, Seattle WA
Expires 2021; Not Eligible for re-election, Position 7
► Bio
Richard Beckerman is an experienced executive with 30+ years of management experience in museum and nonprofit operations. He is currently the Principal of Richard Beckerman Consulting. Beckerman has also served as the COO of the Seattle Art Museum, Past President of Pacific Northwest Organizational Development Network, Interim Executive Director of the Pacific Aviation Museum-Pearl Harbor, and COO & Vice President of Operations and Director of Operations at the Museum of Flight. He earned his MS in Management, Leadership and Organizational Management from Antioch University Seattle, and his BA in Art and Management is from The Evergreen State College.
Director
Nancy Salguero McKay
Executive Director
Highline Heritage Museum, Burien WA
Expires 2022; Eligible for re-election, Position 8
► Bio
Nancy Salguero McKay is the Executive Director for the new Highline Heritage Museum. Since 2006 has been preserving the stories of the Highline region. She held a position as Exhibit Design instructor for the UW Professional & Continuing Education certificate program for two years. Salguero McKay’s awards include Exhibit Excellence award from the Washington Museum Association and the Exhibit Award from the Association of King County Historical Organizations. She’s part of the 4Culture Heritage Advisory Committee and has served as a board member on multiple nonprofit heritage and cultural organizations.
Director
Luanna Gomez
Assistant Registrar Intern
Frye Art Museum, Seattle WA
Expires 2022; Eligible for re-election, Position 14
► Bio
Luanna received her certificate in Museum Studies from the University if Washington in 2018 and has been a collections intern at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, WA since 2017. Her interest in becoming a WaMA board member is to support fundraising efforts. Before choosing a museum career she was a board member of a Seattle nonprofit Blue Earth Alliance and a professor of physics with a specialization in STEM education and teacher preparation in New York, Arizona, and Washington states. She has experience as grant writer and grant administrator, and with fiscal sponsorship and donor relations.
Director
Megan Churchwell
Curator
Puget Sound Navy Museum, Bremerton WA
Expires 2022; Eligible for re-election, Position 2
► Bio
Megan Churchwell has been the Curator of Bremerton’s Puget Sound Navy Museum since 2014. Her background includes a BA degree in American History from Willamette University (2008), as well as a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from the University of Washington (2011). The mission of PSNM, located next to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, focuses on the naval heritage of the Pacific Northwest. At PSNM, Megan develops exhibits, assists researchers, and manages the museum’s social media presence.
Director
Randy Lewis
Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center, Wenatchee WA
Expires 2022; Eligible for re-election, Position 5
► Bio
Ex-Officio
Chieko Phillips
Heritage Lead
4Culture, Seattle WA
► Bio
Chieko Phillips is the Heritage Lead at 4Culture, the cultural funding agency for King County, Washington, where she manages the program that supports organizations and practitioners who preserve and share the history and material culture of King County, Washington. Previously the Director of BlackPast, an online resource for global African and African American history, she has also held positions at the Northwest African American Museum, the United Negro College Fund, and Photographic Center Northwest. Chieko currently serves on the City of Seattle’s Arts Commission where she is a member of the Facilities and Economic Development Committee. She also sits on the boards of the Washington Museums Association and Association of King County Historical Organizations, both organizations that serve the cultural sectors in Washington and King County. A graduate of Davidson College, Chieko holds an BA in History and an MA in Museum Studies from the University of Washington.
Ex-Officio
Allison Campbell
Heritage Outreach Manager
Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma WA
► Bio
Allison Campbell is the Heritage Outreach Manager at the Washington State Historical Society where she coordinates programs to support history and heritage sites across the state. She earned her MA in Museum Studies from New York University and began her career in education at the Tenement Museum and Ellis Island Immigration Museum before moving on to the Riverside Metropolitan Museum in California, Museum of Life and Science in North Carolina and Fort Nisqually Living History Museum in Tacoma. Allison has developed award winning public programming aimed at engaging new audiences including Trapped: Escape Fort Nisqually and Homespun Happy Hour.
Ex-Officio
Erika Ruth Robertson
Puget Sound Emerging Museum Professionals, Seattle WA
► Bio