Applications are open now! Complete your application by May 22nd, 2025 at 11:59PM PST to be considered for the 2025/2026 board member recruitment cycle.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
About the Museum Education Roundtable (MER)
The mission of the Museum Education Roundtable is to inspire innovative thinking for the field through engagement with scholarly and practice-based content explored in the Journal of Museum Education. The JME is the only peer-reviewed journal for the field. Through the JME and related projects and activities, MER advances the museum field by promoting scholarship, dialogue, and community related to critical issues in museum education.
The vision of MER is to empower museum educators to transform the field through learning, community building, and innovative practice.
MER Equity Statement
MER is committed to the core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We believe that as an organization, we have a professional responsibility to address the intersecting histories of oppression and resistance that shape hierarchies of privilege and power related to race, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, ability and national origin and their role in museum education. We are committed to serving as advocates for these values to the wider field and through the Journal of Museum Education.
About the Board of Directors and Opportunities to Contribute
The MER Board of Directors provide leadership and oversight to the Museum Education Roundtable and the Journal of Museum Education through sound, ethical, financial, and legal governance policies. There are opportunities for Board members to exercise and build skills, knowledge, and abilities that enhance or extend beyond the scope of members’ work at their organizations. The Board is intentional in creating a work environment rooted in collaboration, shared leadership, and reflexive practice.
MER Board members attend one retreat (in-person and/or virtual) and about 17-25 virtual meetings throughout the year. In addition to these scheduled meetings, board members are expected to do individual work to prepare for meetings, and reach goals and deadlines that amount to about 1-4 hours per week. Board members serve on one of three action teams:
- Editorial, which develops themes along with the JME Co-Editors and reviews guest edited proposals for the Journal of Museum Education
- Communications, which grows and engages the JME readership and MER membership by leveraging JME content through social media, emails, and the Museum Visions blog.
- Sustainability, which works on the long-term sustainability and stewardship of MER and the JME.
Some board members also serve in officer roles (i.e., President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary), or on special project task forces (e.g., Strategic Planning, Recruitment). All MER board members perform necessary work to produce and promote the JME and to advance MER’s goals. Board members have many opportunities to work on and/or create tasks that are meaningful to them. Tasks can include work like taking notes, writing/editing/peer reviewing, strategic planning, program development, and more.
Terms, Qualifications, Requirements and Benefits of Board Service
Terms:
- Board members serve a three-year term, which coincides with the MER fiscal cycle from October 2025 to September 2028.
- Board members selected will attend the Board’s annual Retreat. The 2025 Board Retreat beheld in person in NYC and online on September 29th and 30th.
- Board members may elect to serve an additional term of one or two more years following their three-year term.
Qualifications:
- Commitment and experiences applicable to the advancement of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion in the museum field
- Meaningful personal and professional experiences with museum education
- Leadership/governance experience with an interest in board leadership roles
- Ability, desire, and commitment to being hands-on, self-motivated, and working fluidly with a remote board
Specific Requirements:
- Active participation in all scheduled board, action team, and task force meetings.
- Actively assist with various board tasks as assigned which may include peer reviewing, guest editing, or other tasks supporting the Journal of Museum Education or Museum Education Roundtable business and marketing.
- Active participation in the annual (in-person and/or virtual) Board Retreat.
- Bear the cost of board participation, specifically travel and lodging costs associated with attendance at the annual retreat if in-person. (MER offers each board member a $250 yearly stipend to assist with board participation costs.)
- Maintain membership in the Museum Education Roundtable.
Benefits:
- Leadership development: Board service can be an important avenue for museum professionals to expand their leadership skills. Additionally, all board members have the opportunity to serve in leadership roles.
- Professional networking: The MER Board of Directors is made up of museum professionals from around the world. Additionally, we work with diverse editors and authors to produce the Journal of Museum Education. Service on the board will broaden your professional network.
- Professional skill development: Board service is a great way for museum educators to nurture skills vital in the museum and non-profit field, such as non-profit management, marketing and communications, academic publishing, budget management, and more.
Application Process
MER is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, gender identity, age, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, ability or national origin. MER is committed to advancing equity and diversity in the museum education field. As such, we especially welcome applications from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) candidates, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, multilingual persons, and others with expertise or knowledge in productively engaging in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility work. MER is committed to the principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities. If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact: [email protected].
Selection Process and Timeline
Finalist candidates will be contacted to schedule a virtual meeting with 1-2 current or former MER Board members. Final MER board member selection is determined by Board vote, followed by a vote of the full MER membership.
MER Board Recruitment Timeline – 2025
- April 18 – Application opens
- May 22 – Application deadline
- May 26 – June 2 – Applications reviewed by the MER Board Recruitment Team
- June 2 – 4 – Finalists selected and notified for interviews
- June 4 – 13 – Interviews conducted
- Week of June 16 – Final board member selections made
- By June 20 – Final slate submitted for board approval
- June 25 – July 3 – MER membership vote on new board slate
- July 11 – New board members announced publicly
Applicants selected for interviews will be contacted by early June. This timeline is subject to slight changes based on scheduling and availability.