Your bias is not your destiny. But, where does bias come from?; how does it develop?; how can we disrupt and change it?

Interpretive strategy and script development for a new traveling exhibition, The Bias Inside Us. Distilling contemporary research and interventions into a compelling and engaging experience for visitors to explore the human nature of bias, its subtle and serious consequences, and the actions we can take to challenge the bias within. 

Now Open (2021): https://biasinsideus.si.edu/ 

The Challenge:  Create an authentic anti-bias learning environment for families. 

Sounds easy enough.
But how to unpack and tease apart all the many aspects of bias that influence the world around us and our place in it? How do we ensure the right voices are in the room, at the table, part of the creative process? How do we create intuitive experiences for young children while unpacking, for adults, the critical underpinnings of bias and how to disrupt it in children and themselves? How do we ensure staff is prepared and supported in the development and programming of this space?

The Answer: Very carefully

Expected opening 2021

These questions and more are tackled in Carved in Stone: American Monuments, Myths, & Memory developed in collaboration with the Union League of Philadelphia. As an organization born of the Civil War and dedicated to preserving its memory, the Union League found itself uniquely positioned to reflect on recent Confederate monument controversies, and those touching on other problematic historic figures. From the American Revolution, to the Civil War, to contemporary figures, this exhibition reflects on how we as a culture and society decide what to memorialize and how. 

Concept development, design charrette facilitation, and prototyping for a multi-player digital interactive that explores the history behind the 19th Amendment and subsequent legal landmarks in the quest for equal rights for ALL women in the United States. Special attention paid to the tension between which women attained their rights and when; as well as the ongoing struggle for women's rights (ex. access to healthcare & body autonomy).

The Burke Museum
Seattle, WA

Exhibition development and script-writing for a series of five galleries and interstitial spaces as part of The New Burke--a brand new museum space to house and celebrate the diverse collections of University of Washington's Burke Museum. Collaborating with curators and exhibit designers to define key learning objectives, identify universal themes, and narrow focus of exhibition narratives for a series of re-conceived exhibition galleries: Archaeology, Ethnology, Biodiversity, Paleontology, and Native American Art.

Expected opening Summer 2019.
In collaboration with Creative Content Studios.

As part of the Museums and Race Steering Committee, oversaw the creation of the Museums and Race Transformation and Justice Lounge for the American Alliance of Museums' Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ.  Envisioned as a purposefully-designed space to support dialog around issues of inclusion and representation in the industry, encourage reflection on personal museum practice, and create space for weary conference attendees to recharge and reconnect with one another.  The lounge included a large welcome sign reminding visitors of the native lands on which the lounge stood, two participatory art projects hosted by local indigenous artists, dialog tables hosted by museum colleagues doing this work in their institutions, and a set of relaxation pods for attendees to grab a few minutes to recharge. 

Working with museum leadership to rethink storytelling and interpretive technology at the Miami villa and gardens of Gilded-Age industrialist, James Deering. A two-day Technology Think Tank followed by an in-depth audience persona workshop.

With The Empathetic Museum, developed a pair of professional development workshops for the Delaware Art Museum in advance of exhibitions and programming dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Wilmington uprising and subsequent National Guard occupation of the city. The museum's recent strategic plan calls for expanded efforts to engage the broader Wilmington community and address issues of diversity and representation within the museum. This workshop series worked with the staff and gallery guides to rethink the way in which bias and cultural norms impact policies and best practices within museums; and identifying ways in which individual staff members can contribute to changing the museum's culture. 

2018 MUSE AWARD
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Strategic assessment and redesign of NMAI's Education website to introduce learners and educators to Native Knowledge 360--a fundamental rethinking of the museum's educational mission.

• Completed a strategic review of the museum's existing education website and lesson plans, suggesting a restructured navigation structure and identifying opportunities to cross-reference available resources and reference materials. (2015)
• Collaborated with education staff to design a flexible content template for lesson plan development with the goal of standardizing content structure while promoting ease of use by educators, supporting a variety of media and opportunities for student interaction and aligning to C3 standards. (2016)
• Concept design and prototyping of interactive learning activities to support new digital curricula--from a salmon spawning adventure to exploratory maps to document annotations. (2016-17)
• Iterative assessment and redesign of NK 360's Educator page to effectively orient educators to the resources and programs available online and in person at both the DC and NYC museums. (2018)

Strategic interpretive planning with Arch Street Meeting House to develop the implementation plan for an ambitious new interpretive vision for this historic Philadelphia site. Located in the heart of colonial Philadelphia, ASMH has served as the largest Quaker meeting house in the United States for over 200 years. In that time it has served as a center of faith, community dialog, and activism around some of the most fundamental issues in our country's history--war, prisons, slavery, environmentalism. How can we help visitors connect with these narratives and continue to encourage dialog and engagement around contemporary social justice issues?