About

Grace Auclair-Lee is a museum and informal educator and experience designer, and holds an MA in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University. As a multi-generation Mexican American, Grace is passionate about providing bilingual accessibility for Hispanic Americans and supporting emerging Hispanic/Latino museum professionals. Formerly the Executive Director of the Friends of the Tubac Presidio and Science Communication Specialist at Arizona Science Center, Grace’s expertise lies in designing relevant and engaging museum experiences, supporting co-created programming, and empowering individuals to see themselves as changemakers through inclusive and accessible informal education.

Outside of her professional roles, Grace has expertise in creating engaging educational experiences through historic sewing and costuming, outdoor experiences, and on horseback. Grace is a member of the Anza Trail Mounted Colorguard, a historical reenactment community dedicated to bridging past and present by bringing elements of the human experience throughout history to life.

Board Member Since: 2024

Current position: Communications Team member

Wade Berger studies how informal educators learn from and with each other. His interests include learning in small moments, interaction analysis methods, informal educator professional training, and the connective infrastructure of community-based learning. To do this work, he collaborates with educators at parks, museums, science centers, and after-school clubs. His work recognizes how these spaces are particularly poised to address anti-blackness, settler colonialism, anti-LGBTQ perspectives, deficit-mindsets, ableism, and the faults of capitalism within education.

Wade is an active member of the Chicago Learning Exchange, a visioning committee for the RESHAPE graduate student network, and recently joined a graduate chapter of Iota Phi Theta. He previously managed teen programs and created the Teen Learning Lab at the Shedd Aquarium. He has an M.S. from UW-Madison from the Games+Learning+Society group and started his career in learning as a high school social studies teacher.

Board Member Since: 2022

Current Position: Co-Vice President

Kate Mirand Calleri is a nonprofit and museum leader committed to thoughtful content and space development, centering constructivist learning, accessibility, care, and engagement for all people. Calleri joined Brooklyn Children’s Museum in 2016 as manager of collections interpretation. She became curator and manager of collections interpretation in 2019, and then assumed the role of director of education in 2022, where she oversaw the museum’s entire educational ecosystem. Starting in May 2025, Calleri joined the Brooklyn Bridge Park as the Director of Education, where she will shape a new education center and the Park’s next educational chapter.

Outside of these roles, she was a 2023 Women inPower Fellow at the 92Y Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact and a member of the National Art Education Association’s 2024 School for Art Leaders at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. She was a dedicated mentor for the New Museum’s New INC. 2024-2025 incubator program and is currently on the board of directors for the Museum Educator Roundtable nonprofit and journal, where she is a Co-Chair of the Editorial Committee. Calleri has an MFA in photography from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Board member since: 2024

Current position: Editorial Co-Chair and Board Mentor

A highly skilled and talented museum professional, Vana Chainani come to us with over 9 years of experience working within museums, galleries, and community spaces. As a passionate historian, with a calling to share, she is constantly deep diving into historic and current stories of women, racialized groups, disabled persons, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, and many more marginalized groups.

Being well versed in the G.L.A.M. fields and in various positions, the commonalities among roles that she has expanded on are the goals of engagement, accessibility, decolonization, and intersectionality. She has worked with Black Creek Pioneer Village, The Harriet Tubman Institute, The Art Gallery of Ontario, Guelph Museums, Guelph Black History Society, the MHSO, and Lakeshore Ground Interpretive Centre. Currently, she is a museum program officer with Toronto History Museums and has earned her Honours Bachelor’s degree and Master of Arts degree from York University.

Board Member Since: 2024

Current Position: Sustainability Co-Chair

Ashleigh D. Coren is an independent curator and educator who was formerly the Head of Education for the American Women’s History Initiative, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. She holds a BA in Art and Visual Culture from Bates College, and an MS in Archives Management from Simmons College. She is a lapsed librarian and archivist who has held previous positions at the National Portrait Gallery, the University of Maryland, College Park, and West Virginia University.

Board Member Since: 2023

Current Position: Communications Team Co-Chair

Analisa Duran has worked in the informal science education field for over a decade. She started her career in marine science education, working her way up from aquarium educator to education specialist, then education manager at a local aquarium. From there, she broadened her expertise to encompass additional science disciplines at Florida International University’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Education. Duran is currently the Knight Senior Director of Science Education and the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, Florida. In this role, she leads a team of informal science education practitioners in providing engaging and memorable learning experiences for learners in the museum, in the K-12 classroom, and in the community. Duran holds a master’s degree in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences from the University of Florida and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Science Education from Florida International University with an expected completion in Summer 2025. Her research interests include museum education pedagogy, exploring museum educator practice and museum educator self-efficacy beliefs.

Board member since: 2025

Current position: Co-Treasurer; Editorial team member

Arthurina Fears is the Esther Stiles Eastman Curator of Education at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She was previously the Assistant Director of Gallery Teaching and Collections Training at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and has also held roles at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon. She is an American Association for Museum Volunteers board member, New England Museum Association Professional Affinity Gathering Education Co-Chair, and is an alumna of the National Art Education Association School for Art Leaders. Fears holds an MA in Art Education from Boston University and a Graduate Certificate in Art History and BA in English from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Board Member Since: 2024

Current Position: Editorial Team member

Beatriz Galuban is a museum educator and assistant professor of art at Texas A&M University, Commerce. She is passionate about art museums and their potential for cultivating empathy, community, and connection among people. Beatriz specializes in art museum access programming for adult audiences. She teaches the Connections program at the Meadows Museum, SMU (a program for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s and their care partners). As an educator, she is also interested in how to make museums more accessible places for everyone. Beatriz is originally from Canada, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history and visual culture and an MA in art history. She recently graduated with a Ph.D. in art education and a certification in art museum education from the University of North Texas in 2021.

Board Member Since: 2023

Current Position: Communications Team Co-Chair

Susan Jama is an art worker with over 5 years of experience leading community engagement and public arts programming with strong grassroots experience. She is the Programs and Community Coordinator at Onsite Gallery. Susan has worked with various institutions that approach heritage in a community-minded manner including Toronto Ward Museum (TWM) and Black Artists’ Networks in Dialogue Gallery & Cultural Centre (BAND). She graduated from Masters of Museum Studies from University of Toronto and completed her Bachelor in Psychology & History at York University.

Board Member Since: 2023

Current Position: Co-Treasurer; Sustainability Team member

Jodi Kovach is the Pamela and Christopher Hoehn-Saric Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and Education at The Gund, Kenyon College. In this role, she partners with faculty across disciplines to integrate art into the curricula and oversees the museum’s academic engagement and educational programs. She holds a PhD in Art History from Washington University in St. Louis. Her scholarship focuses on international modernism and global contemporary art, with a specialization in Mexican art, and has appeared in academic journals such as Art Journal. Her publications on museum pedagogy include Language Learning in Academic Museums: New Paradigms for Cultural Study, Language Acquisition, and Campus Engagement (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023), co-edited with Heather Flaherty, Curator of Education at The Trout Gallery, Dickinson College; and STEM in the Art Museum: Innovative Pedagogies for 21st-century Science Curricula. a special thematic issue of UMAC Journal co-edited with Liliana Milkova, Nolen Curator of Education and Academic Affairs, Yale University Art Gallery.

Board member since: 2025

Current position: Communications team member

Maureen Leary is the Director of Education & Visitor Experience at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum, where she leads her team in creating welcoming and inclusive spaces and programs for a range of audiences. Maureen discovered her passion for engaging in museum learning with children when she began her museum career at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, an onsite school for infants through Kindergarten. She spent over two decades there in a variety of roles, including classroom teacher, bilingual programs educator, and site director. She holds a BA in English from Georgetown University and an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia.n!

Board member since: 2025

Current position: Sustainability Team Member; DC Liasion

Nenette Luarca-Shoaf is a seasoned museum educator and interdisciplinary scholar based in Los Angeles. She leads The Huntington’s Education and Public Engagement division, overseeing a staff of about 26 and over 1,000 volunteers. The division engages visitors of all ages with The Huntington’s collections, offering K–12 student and educator programs and partnerships, multigenerational drop-in activities, community collaborations, audio and digital resources, and classes and workshops for lifelong learners. Before joining The Huntington in 2025, Luarca-Shoaf spent five years as managing director of learning and engagement at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. From 2016 to 2020, she was the director of adult learning and associate curator of interpretation at the Art Institute of Chicago. She also held curatorial and research positions at the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the University of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Luarca-Shoaf holds a B.A. in Art History from USC, an M.A. in Humanities from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Delaware.

Board Member Since: 2023

Current Position: Co-Vice President

Margaret McColl is a Senior Lecturer in Museum and Heritage Education at the University of Glasgow and Programme Lead of the MSc Museum Education which she developed in 2017. In 2019, drawing on her international museum and heritage network relations, she built an international consortium of academic and practitioner experts and led the development of an innovative new International Master of Education in Museums and Heritage (EDUMaH). In 2023, EDUMaH was awarded Erasmus funding, becoming an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters. Both the MSc Museum Education and EDUMaH explore the intersections between education, culture, arts, societal issues and heritage and both programmes are characterised by strong links with field practice and professionals.

She has published on Teacher Education and Museum and Heritage Education and have presented at numerous international conferences on both subjects.

Board member since: 2024

Current position: Sustainability Co-Chair

Dr. Alexandra F. Morris (she/her) is a disabled Egyptologist, lecturer, and disability activist tying the past to the present. Her research is on disability in ancient Egypt, the Classical world, and creating inclusive museums. She is joining Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland as a Lecturer (Education) in Ancient History in January 2026. Alexandra is a Co-Founder of the UK Disability History and Heritage Hub, Co-President of CripAntiquity, serves on the Editorial Board for Asterion Hub, and Vice-President of the Disabled Action Research Kollective (D.A.R.K.). She has a BA in Archaeological Studies, Anthropology, and Art History with minors in Classics and History from SUNY Potsdam, an MA in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Museum Studies from New York University, and a PhD in History from Teesside University.

Alexandra is a founder of a new field within ancient Egyptian archaeology and Egyptology, which is finally being recognised internationally roughly 12 years after its foundation. She is, along with Wade Berger, the Co-Founder of the Lived Experience with Disability in Museums research group, and fundamentally believes that disabled people have the right to learn about, work with, and see themselves reflected in history, ancient and modern, with as few barriers as possible. Additionally, Alexandra is a published author and editor in both academic and nonacademic spaces, with two of her more recent publications (2024) being the first ever two books on disability in ancient Egypt. She is currently working on her fourth and fifth academic books; a biography and a sourcebook which both center ancient disability. Through her work she has developed a speciality of getting nonacademics and alt-academics published in mainstream academic spaces. Alexandra has cerebral palsy and dyspraxia.

Board Member Since: 2021

Current Position: President

Sam Ramos is director of Gallery Activation at the Art Institute of Chicago. He teaches across the galleries on a variety of topics including nature, history, medicine, social justice, race, colonialism, and, of course, art. He is a practicing writer who has published fiction, art criticism, and essays in a number of places, though his first loves are short stories and novels. Most recently, his novel, Ghost Box, was longlisted for the 2023 Dzanc Fiction Prize. He received his BFA in art history and studio art and his MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Board member since: 2025

Current position: Editorial team member

Asami Robledo-Allen Yamamoto (she/her/ella) is the Predoctoral Research Fellow in Museum Studies at the Women’s National History Museum. Previously, she served as the Director of Education and Outreach and the Director of Communication and Marketing at Latinos in Heritage Conservation. Additionally, she worked at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Her work focuses on bilingual, teen, and accessibility museum programs rooted in constructivism, empathy, and compassion.

Asami earned her both her degrees from the University of North Texas. Her MA is in Art Education with a certification in Art Museum Education and her BFA is in Art Education with a double minor in Psychology and Art History. Currently, she is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Curriculuma and Instruction. Asami has been a MER board member since 2022.

Board Member Since: 2022

Current Position: Communications Team

Orlando R. Serrano, Jr. is the Manager of PK-12 Learning at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH). He supports, develops, and manages formal/informal educational and leadership experiences for students, professional development workshops for educators, and curriculum content. Prior to joining NMAH, he taught 9th grade Language Arts in Washington DC. Dr. Serrano holds a Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California. He is an educator and public academic with expertise in human geography, environmental justice, social movements, and education policy and pedagogy. Dr. Serrano’s research and writing have been funded by a Ford Foundation Fellowship and National Science Foundation EDGE-SBE Grants.

Board Member Since: 2023

Current Position: Editorial Team Co-Chair

Sarah Timm is the Peggy L. Osher Head of Education at the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine. Sarah firmly believes in the transformative power of museum learning in strengthening dialogue, empathy, and community to build a more socially and environmentally just present and future. Sarah also teaches at the Maine College of Art and Design. Sarah earned an MA in Art History from Florida State University and a double BA in Art History and Studio Art (Digital), with minors in History and Classical Studies from Elon University.

Board Member Since: 2024

Current position: Communications Co-Chair

Dr. Marta Torres is an educator and arts administrator with extensive experience in higher education, museums, and community-based cultural organizations. She has held leadership roles in program management, arts education, and non-profit administration, working with institutions across Dallas–Fort Worth and Puerto Rico to expand access to the arts, support student success, and foster inclusive learning environments. Her background spans curriculum development, community engagement, and strategic planning, with a focus on equity-driven practices that empower diverse learners and audiences. Marta holds a Doctorate in Learning and Organizational Change from Baylor University, along with advanced degrees in History and Education. She is passionate about advancing the fields of education and arts administration by cultivating collaboration, cultural storytelling, and sustainable institutional growth.

Board Member Since: 2022

Current Position: Secretary

Brandon Truett is an interdisciplinary scholar, educator, and curator based in Brooklyn. He is currently the Mellon Head of Learning and Community Engagement at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, where he also holds an appointment in the English Department as Visiting Assistant Professor of the Practice of the Humanities. At the Zimmerli, he oversees the full range of educational, academic, and interpretative initiatives that engage visitors of all ages and forges meaningful partnerships that bridge campus and community audiences. Previously, he worked at the Barnes Foundation, the David Rubenstein Forum at the University of Chicago, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University. He received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Chicago, where he also held a two-year postdoctoral fellowship. A specialist in twentieth- and twenty-first century visual culture, literature, and popular media, Truett’s peer-reviewed research has appeared in American Literature, Modernism/modernity, Twentieth-Century Literature, and Grey Room, and he often writes criticism and short-form essays for more public venues. He is finishing a book on the visual culture of antifascism from the 1930s to the present.

Board member since: 2025

Current position: Editorial team member

Carolina Zataray is the Senior Manager of Education and Public Engagement at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, where she leads the development of educational and public programming serving the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the wider community. With more than 18 years of experience in both formal and informal education, she began her career as a history teacher before entering the museum field. At the Autry Museum of the American West, she helped develop the award-winning Autry Classroom Curators program, and later served as Curator of Education at the San Bernardino County Museum. In addition to her professional roles, Carolina has been an active leader in the field, serving on the Board of Directors for the Museum Educators of Southern California since 2017, including three years as President. Passionate about creating inclusive and impactful learning experiences, she continues to champion the power of museums as spaces for connection, learning, and community engagement.

Board member since: 2025

Current position: Sustainability team member

Nathaniel Prottas is Director of Education and Visitor Services at the Wien Museum (The City Museum of Vienna), Austria. In his role as a senior member of the museum’s staff, he oversees the development of all school, family, and adult programming in the museum’s 17 locations throughout the city. He works closely with curators and conservators to help develop storylines and define questions for special exhibitions and is currently co-developing the museum’s new new permanent exhibition with a team of curators. Before joining the Wien Museum, Nathaniel was Director of Education at the Museum of Biblical Art, held the Samuel H. Kress Interpretive Fellowship at the Frick Collection, and worked as an educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from University College London, and a BA from The University of Chicago. He has published both on art historical and museum education topics in journals including the Journal of Museum Education, the Journal of Aesthetic Education, and the Journal of the Philosophy of Photography.

Cynthia Robinson is the former director of the Tufts Museum Studies Program, a position I held between 2007 and 2025 and is a teaching professor in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and hold secondary appointments in the Education and the History departments. Before coming to Tufts, she worked in and with museums. Her specialty is museum education but she infuses teaching with her experience in many other aspects of museum work. She considers herself lucky in her museum career to be able to curate exhibitions, manage collections, write grants (and review grants for state and federal agencies too), supervise employees, conduct research, and participate in strategic planning, fundraising, evaluation, and marketing.

Cynthia was the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Museum Education between 2010 and 2021 and worked with MER to produce first three and then four issues of this peer-reviewed journal each year. She was privileged to get to know museum educators, scholars and allies from around the world who served as guest-editors, authors, and reviewers. Together, she and these colleagues generated a platform for research and discourse about the future of museum education and strategies for increasing visitors’ understanding of themselves and the world.