About

Board of Directors

  • Wendy Ng
    President
  • Adria Brown
    Co-Vice President | Co-Chair, Sustainability
  • Andrea Kim Neighbors
    Co Vice-President | Co-Chair, Editorial
  • Hazel Theriault
    Secretary | Co-Chair, Sustainability
  • Rebecca Ljungren
    Co-Treasurer | Co-Chair Editorial Team
  • Susan Jama
    Co-Treasurer
  • Asami Robledo-Allen Yamamoto
    Co-Chair, Editorial
  • Alexandra Morris
    Co-Chair, Communications
  • Wade Berger
    Co-Chair, Communications
  • Sarah Bloom
    Board Member
  • Ashleigh D. Coren
    Board Member
  • Beatriz Galuban
    Board Member
  • Kimaada Le Gendre
    Board Member
  • Nenette Luarca-Shoaf
    Board Member
  • Orlando Serrano, Jr.
    Board Member
  • Marta M. Torres
  • Kate Zankowicz
    Board Member

Wendy Ng is an education specialist and the principal owner and consultant at Twin Muses Consulting Services.

She is a PhD student in the Curriculum and Pedagogy program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.

Wendy has over twenty years of experience working to change cultural institutions through anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion praxis. She has implemented strategic plans, change management, and culture transformation initiatives throughout her career, managing educational programming in large public institutions, including the Ontario Science Centre, Royal Ontario Museum, and Art Gallery of Ontario.

Wendy is a published author and guest editor with a focus on social justice in museum education. She holds a MAT in Museum Education from George Washington University, a BFA and BEd from York University, and is certified by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Board Member Since: 2019

Current position: President; Leadership Team

Adria Brown (Chickasaw, she/her/hers) is the Director of the Native American Program at Dartmouth College. In this role, she provides direction, leadership, and consultation in the educational, social, cultural, and personal development of Native and Indigenous students at Dartmouth through student advising and mentoring, community engagement and collaboration, and budget administration.

Dedicated to cultivating interdisciplinary learning communities, her work as program director, social worker, and museum educator is rooted in the principles of abolitionist social work and compassion. Prior to the NAP, she spent several years working in various museum education and social work roles including at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Chickasaw Cultural Center, We Stories, Laumeier Sculpture Park, and the Saint Louis Circuit Attorney’s Victim Services Unit.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in Native American Studies and Art History and a Master of Social Work from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she is an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. She comes from the Keel Family in Tishomingo, and is from a mixed-race (Indigenous and white) family.

Board Member Since: 2021

Current Position:  Co-Vice President; Co-Chair Sustainability Team; Leadership Team

 

 

Andrea Kim Neighbors (she/her) currently serves as the Director of Social Impact at Blue Star Families.

Previously, she was Head of Education at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), where she collaborated with K12 educators and Asian American and Pacific Islander content specialists to develop APAC’s National Education Program.

Before joining APAC, Andrea was Manager of Community Partnerships at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and Tour Manager at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle, WA, designing customized museum experiences to best fit the needs of local educators.

Andrea serves as a board member of the Museum Education Roundtable and was a Getty Leadership NextGen 2019 Fellow and a book reviewer for the Asian American publication Hyphen Magazine. She studied Cultural Anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Washington College and conducted independent field research in the Russian Far East.

Board Member Since: 2022

Current Position: Co-Vice President; Co-Chair Editorial Team; Leadership Team

 

Hazel Theriault (she/they) is a museum professional passionate about inclusivity, authentic community, and science communication. She is an experienced leader, developing strong teams to create quality STEAM content and facilitate meaningful moments of discovery at Museum of Science & Industry, DuPage Children’s Museum, Indiana State Museum, and Orlando Science Center.

Hazel received her Bachelor’s degree in anthropology and is currently enrolled in the MBA program at University of Illinois. She believes that, as cultural centers, museums have a responsibility to foster social change. Her greatest hope is to make museums brave, inclusive, and empowering spaces for staff and visitors alike.

Board Member Since: 2019

Current Position: Secretary; Co-Chair Sustainability Team; Leadership Team

Rebecca Ljungren empowers learners of all ages to think critically about the past to inspire a more just future. She currently serves as the Education Programs Manager at the National Women’s History Museum. Her activities include developing and implementing in-person programs, overseeing digital learning initiatives, and managing the Museum’s internship and fellowship programs. Ljungren also has extensive experience in managing and training staff and volunteers, organizing and conducting outreach at the local and national level, and developing exhibitions.

Ljungren earned a B.A. in Art History from American University and an M.A.T. in Museum Education from the George Washington University. Prior to the National Women’s History Museum, she spent a decade working in various museum education roles, including at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the National Building Museum.

Ljungren’s professional interests include examining the relationships between history, science, art, and social justice through programs and exhibitions. Through her work, she advocates for an equitable, inclusive, and accessible experience for all within museums and in daily life.

Board Member Since: 2021

Current Position: Co-Treasurer; Co-Chair Editorial Team; Leadership Team; DC Liaison

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; Communications Team

Asami Robledo-Allen Yamamoto (she/her/ella) is the Project Manager for Latinos in Heritage Conservation. Previously, she served as the Community and Bilingual Program Coordinator and Spanish Translator for the Kimbell Art Museum. Her work focuses on bilingual, teen, and accessibility museum programs rooted in constructivism, empathy, and compassion.

Asami is a disabled Mexican woman and believes museum educational programs are catalysts to change in surrounding communities. Therefore, she advocates for Spanish-language inclusion, anti-ableist and anti-racist museum education practices, and gamification. She has also been a bilingual gallery teacher at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

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.

Asami is also a practicing artist trying to raise awareness for various chronic illnesses through her paintings and video art.

Board Member Since: 2022

Current Position: Co-Chair Editorial Team; Leadership Team

 

 

Dr. Alexandra F. Morris (she/her) is an Egyptologist and disability activist. She recently was awarded her PhD in history (2022), and is currently an Associate Lecturer in Heritage and the Humanities at the University of Lincoln (UK), an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham (UK), Access Guide with Diversity and Ability, and Tutor with the Egypt Exploration Society, and the Brilliant Club.

Her research is on disability in ancient Egypt and creating inclusive museums. She holds an MA in Museum Studies and an MA in Near Eastern Languages & Civilisations (Egyptology). Her BA is in Archaeological Studies, Anthropology, and Art History with minors in Classics and history.

Alexandra is also a Co-Founder of the UK Disability History and Heritage Hub, Co-Chair of CripAntiquity, serves on the Editorial Board for Asterion Hub, and is Chair of the Lewisboro, NY Advisory Committee for the Disabled. 

She is co-editing the book Disability in Ancient Egypt and Egyptology: All Our Yesterdays, and authoring the monograph Disability in the Ptolemaic and Hellenistic World, 332-30 BCE: Plato’s Stepchildren: both under contract with Routledge. She has cerebral palsy and dyspraxia.

Board Member Since: 2021

Current Position:  Co-Chair Communications Team; Leadership Team

Wade Berger is Postdoc, Learning Sciences at Northwestern University and 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-Chair Communications Team; Leadership Team

Sarah Bloom recently joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Discovery Center as the Sr. Officer for Interpretation and Visitor Engagement – overseeing K-12 Education Programs, Youth Programs, Interpretive Strategies and Exhibitions. Prior to this most recent tenure, Sarah served as the Associate Director of Education at the Seattle Art Museum, where for the past eight years, she played a key role in developing and strengthening SAM’s programs across the museum’s three sites: SAM Downtown, the Asian Art Museum, and the Olympic Sculpture Park.. Education, engagement, and outreach have always been at the core of Sarah’s work. Prior to SAM, Sarah held positions with the Getty Museum, the Norton Simon, and the USC Pacific Asia Museum in Los Angeles. A native of Alexandria, Egypt, Sarah received a BA from Boston University and an MA from the University of Colorado in Classical Art & Archaeology.

Board Member Since: 2020

Current Position: Sustainability Team

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

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

Kimaada Le Gendre (she/her/hers) is the Director of Education at the Queens Museum, where she curates, develops, implements, and oversees education programs rooted in social justice, accessibility, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. As a former history teacher, she prides herself on developing and shaping empowering curricula and programs through a decolonized lens.

Kimaada is also the best-selling author of 19 children’s books on cultural diversity, empowerment, and environmental issues. In 2022, she was part of the three-person curriculum development team researching, developing, and writing the official Curriculum Guide for the movie Till. She holds a Bachelor’s in English from Hunter College and a Master’s in Environmental Law and policy with concentrations in Climate Change Law and Energy Law from Vermont Law School.

She is also a senior fellow in the Environmental Leadership Program and an Immigrant Civic Leadership Senior Fellow in the CORO New York Leadership Program. In 2020, she became a Leadership & Social Change Fellow with the Institute For Nonprofit Practice. In 2021, she became a Board Member & Education Advisor for the Museum Council of NYC. She was also chosen to join artEquity’s second cohort of the BIPOC Leadership Circle. In 2022, she became a Board Member for the Museum Education Roundtable.

Board Member Since: 2022

Current Position: Communications Team

Nenette Luarca-Shoaf is Managing Director of Learning and Engagement at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, currently under construction in Los Angeles. In her practice, she aims to demystify museums, activate art history so that it feels relevant to broad audiences, and to create opportunities for bridging scholarly research, creative practice, and public discourse. She was previously the director of adult learning and associate curator of interpretation at the Art Institute of Chicago and guest curator of the traveling exhibition, Navigating the West: George Caleb Bingham and the River. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in the art and visual culture of the United States, and an M.A. in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. Nenette has taught courses at the School of the Art Institute and Ursinus College and also held fellowships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Advanced Study, among others.

Board Member Since: 2023

Current Position: Sustainability 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

Dr. Marta Torres is an Associate Director of Work Program Training at Paul Quinn College, a private, historically black college in Dallas, Texas. She has a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Learning and Organizational Change from Baylor University and a Master of Arts (MA) in Art Education Specializing in Museum Studies from Caribbean University. With over ten years of experience in arts administration, education, career readiness and development, theater, and non-profit work; Dr. Torres is passionate about creating and researching transformative, equitable, and culturally competent educational content. She leverages her multidisciplinary background and cultural awareness to design and deliver interactive and engaging learning experiences for students, community leaders, administration, and partners. She is also committed to using performance art as a vehicle to represent diverse, authentic, and inclusive Latinx and multi-racial stories on stage.

Board Member Since: 2022

Current Position: Sustainability Team

Kate Zankowicz (she/her/hers) is a museum education scholar and practitioner who has created community-driven, inclusive programming in museums in Canada and the U.S. for the past 20 years.

Her practice has centered around creating collaborative programming with—not for—communities. As a museum educator with a disability, Zankowicz’s museum education pedagogy, scholarship and philosophy are grounded in her lived experience.

She holds a PhD in Education, with a focus on museum-based education from the University of Toronto (OISE) and currently serves as the Program Manager for ReDiscover Center in mid-city Los Angeles, a sustainable youth makerspace. She was the co-editor of “The Call for Disability Justice in Museum Education: Reframing Accessibility as Anti-Ableism” in the Journal of Museum Education(Ware, Zankowicz and Sims).

Board Member Since: 2020

Current Position: Editorial Team