Change Is Required

Avi Decter, Managing Partner of History Now, is known for interpreting difficult subjects, including labor unrest at the Boott Cotton Mill Museum in Lowell, MA; civil war at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA; and genocide at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Over the years, he has helped to plan new museums in six states and the District of Columbia. Decter is the author of Interpreting American Jewish History at Museums and Historic Sites (2016) and Exploring American Jewish History through 50 Historic Treasures (forthcoming). With Ken Yellis, he writes the "History in Progress" column for History News.Marsha Semmel is an independent consultant working with cultural and educational organizations on leadership development, strategic planning, and partnerships. In 2019, she published Partnership Power: Essential Museum Strategies for Today’s Networked World. Semmel has served as Senior Advisor to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, and the Noyce Leadership Institute. She has taught at the Bank Street College Graduate program in museum education since 2015. Previously, Semmel served in leadership roles at the Institute of Museum and Library Services and NEH. She has been President/CEO of Conner Prairie, in Indiana, and Women of the West Museum in Denver. Ken Yellis, Principal of Project Development Services, served as guest curator for Passages through the Fire: American Jews and the Civil War. A historian with four decades in the museum field, Ken has been involved in over 100 history, science, and art exhibitions. Ken served as grant writer and content developer for The Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present and Future (2009-2011). He has worked for the Touro Synagogue Foundation, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Plimoth Plantation, and the National Portrait Gallery.

• DedicationsTable of ContentsForeword Gretchen SorinAcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I. Confronting the CrisisChapter 1: A Wake-Up Call Kristin LeighChapter 2: Making Lemonade: Learning from the Pandemic Judy GradwohlChapter 3: Beyond Command and Control: Inclusive Leadership in a Crisis Su OhChapter 4: Getting Lost on Purpose Andrea JonesPart II. The Turn to DigitalChapter 5 :The Virtuous Circle: From Local to Global and Back Again Robin White OwenChapter 6: Expanding Museums into Digital Spaces Lath CarlsonChapter 7: I Went to a Bar for Time Travelers Michael Peter EdsonPart III. The Turn to CommunityChapter 8 :Beyond the Handshake: Effective Steps in Community Engagement Armando OrdunaChapter 9: Notions of Permanence, Visions of Change Darryl WilliamsChapter 10: Slaves Lived Here/Esclavos Vivieron Aqui Meredith Sorin HorsfordChapter 11: We Are Each Other's Harvest: Prospering through Partnerships LaNesha DeBardelabenChapter 12: Communities Over Collections: Three Principles for Partnership Nafisa IsaPart IV. The Turn to EquityChapter 13: Speaking Truth to Power Begins Internally Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell and Janeen BryantChapter 14: What Keeps Me Awake at Night: A Letter on Decolonization Brandie McdonaldChapter 15: Museums, Disability, and "Uncertain Afters" Izetta Autumn MobleyPart V. Re-Thinking StewardshipChapter 16: Caretakers of Our Histories Sven HaakansonChapter 17: The Collective Collection: Active, People-Centered, and Collaborative Mariah Berlanga-ShevchukChapter 18: Broadening the Institutional Purpose of Zoos in the Post-Pandemic Era Scott CarterPart VI. Re-Thinking VisitorsChapter 19: On Bearing Witness Erin Carlson MastChapter 20: Holding the Space We Make Beck TenchChapter 21: Discovering Connections: Supporting the Quest for Meaning and Well-Being Dawnette SamuelsPart VII. Re-Thinking LeadershipChapter 22: Self-Worth, Trust, and Wonder: Leadership Lessons from Fred Rogers Mariruth LeftwichChapter 23: Protect People, Not Things Franklin VagnoneChapter 24: Courageous Imagination Nannette V. Maciejunes and Cindy Meyers FoleyPart VIII. Re-Thinking StructuresChapter 25: From Silos to Social Networks Christian GreerChapter 26: Equity and Collaboration: Transforming Structure and Narrative to Center Community Brian Lee WhisenhuntChapter 27: Collaborative Knowledge Production for the 21st-Century MuseumJ uliana Ochs DweckChapter 28: Hitting Reset on Hiring and Advancing in Museums Sam MoorePart IX. Re-Defining SuccessChapter 29: The (Unfilled) Promise of Evaluation Cecilia GaribayChapter 30: Word Processing Joanne Jones-RizziChapter 31: Measuring Our Value(s): Let's Start with Structure Ben GarciaPart X. Expanding PurposeChapter 32: Museum Relevance in the Context of the Earth System Emlyn KosterChapter 33: Social Justice: Framework for the Future of Museums Elena GonzalesChapter 34: Are We Serious about Changing the Equation? Deborah SchwartzChapter 35: Purpose Is the Only Thing Dorothy KosinskiPart XI: Voices from the Future of MuseumsChapter 36: Thoughtful Agility Marcy BreffleChapter 37: The Unredeemable Museum Rebekka ParkerChapter 38: Museums, Aesthetic Experience, and Design Justice Rina AlfonsoChapter 39: The Water We Swim In Tramia JacksonChapter 40: More Show, Less Tell Rachel E. WinstonChapter 41 :The Optics of Museum Equity Karen VidangosChapter 42: Will We Love to Labor at Museums? Shivkumar DesaiChapter 43: Make Me a History Museum I Actually Care About Emma BresnanChapter 44 :Collapsing Enclosures Qianjin MontoyaChapter 45: A Constellation of Interpretation: Object Labels in the Polyphonic Museum Sara BladChapter 46: “If an object sits on a shelf in a dark warehouse, does it make an impact?” Jonathan EdelmanChapter 47: Change and Opportunity: Resilience in a VUCA World Deja SantiagoChapter 48: Co-Designing the Future Kirsten McnallyPostscript: What We have LearnedAbout the EditorsFor Further Reading

Some of the most insightful and forward-thinking people in the museum field weigh in on this moment…. How we got here, what it says about our field, and what opportunities it presents for long-overdue change. We need this book.