The 2024 recipients of the Nancy Hanks Memorial Award for Rising Stars discuss the future of museum leadership.

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This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s September/October 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership.

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As the museum field changes, so too does its leadership ranks. We recently asked the recipients of the 2024 Nancy Hanks Memorial Award for Rising Stars—museum professionals with 10 years or less of experience who are making an impact in their institutions, communities, and the museum field—about their experiences in the profession so far. Award winners who contributed to this article are Amber Angeloni, Manager of Visitor Experience, Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens; Roberto Chavez, Educator for Children and Family Learning, American Museum of Natural History; Andre LuJan, Director, Texas through Time; Chris Morehead, Director of Experience and Operations, Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields; Miguel Ordeñana, Senior Manager, Community Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; KT Todd, Director of Learning & Research, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh; and Stephen White, Chief Strategy Officer, Center of Science and Industry. Their responses have been condensed and edited for clarity and brevity.

From your perspective, what are the most pressing challenges facing museums today?

Andre LuJan: I believe space is one of the biggest challenges facing museums today. Large institutions in major metropolitan areas have reached their limits in expanding collections and exhibits. This exacerbates a second major issue: rural areas are growing faster and lack museums to represent local history and culture. The solution is a new wave of small museums in rural communities, preserving history and culture by keeping these resources at or near their discovery.

Stephen White: I have witnessed three key challenges for our industry: public funding, serving the most vulnerable in our neighborhoods, and navigating the innovation revolution led by AI and other digital advancements. Museums often rely on a mix of public and private funding, which can be threatened by economic downturns, changes in government policy, and shifting philanthropic priorities. We must reestablish museums as a “necessary” partner for our community in the eyes of public officials to ensure long-term sustainability. Community-based programs outside the museum are critical. Engaging underserved youth through innovative technology, such as AI, can create immersive experiences necessary to attract and retain visitors, particularly those from marginalized communities.

KT Todd: Changes in attendance patterns, workers’ expectations, and cultural polarization are significant. Many museums have not seen attendance numbers return to pre-COVID levels, forcing them to rethink their business models and find new revenue sources. As the population diversifies, many museums find pervasive whiteness in their leadership and histories perpetuating racial inequities in attendance, staffing, and societal outcomes. Worker expectations are also shifting, with increasing unionization and demands for cost-of-living adjustments that museums struggle to meet. Additionally, cultural polarization around issues central to museum missions poses a challenge, as museums strive to uphold their values without alienating significant portions of the population.

Chris Morehead: Institutions find it increasingly difficult to balance reckoning with problematic histories and evolve in more dynamic and diverse ways. Social media amplifies community frustrations with perceived and legitimate lack of progress. Staying abreast of digital trends and incorporating technologies like AR and VR to enhance visitor experiences is essential. Appealing to broad and diverse audiences, including younger generations from various backgrounds, is key. Ensuring proper representation and inclusivity in collections and exhibitions is critical. Maintaining and preserving collections with limited space and resources while implementing environmentally sustainable practices is a balance many institutions face.

Miguel Ordeñana: The biggest challenges for museums include addressing their colonial roots and outdated policies as they strive to become more inclusive to diverse visitors, partners, and staff. Museum leadership faces multiple priorities, which can make equity and justice work uncomfortable, risky, or costly. Museums must act with humility and courage to dismantle institutional barriers, which will enhance their competitiveness for funding, inspire equitable partnerships, and better support and retain staff and visitors reflective of the communities they serve.

What types of support have been crucial to your professional and/or career development?

Amber Angeloni: The most important kind of support for me is feeling trusted by leadership. I am grateful for the times I have been given room to fulfill my vision for my department.

White: I am blessed to have had great mentors who have helped me on my servant leadership journey, enabling my work to serve the community through a “people-first” ethos. I have been fortunate to have colleagues with vast expertise who collectively serve the public. As a first-generation college student who grew up in poverty, I am thankful for mentors who inspired me toward “service-minded” leadership.

Roberto Chavez: Mentorship, continued communication, and collaboration have been crucial to my professional development, especially as an LGBTQ+ professional and a museum educator of color. The museum field—especially museum education—can feel small and thankless, making mentorship vital for guidance and support. Staying in touch with former colleagues can be uplifting, as leaving a long-term museum job can feel isolating. Too often, museum professionals feel siloed in their roles, making collaboration essential for retention and maintaining institutional knowledge. Documenting institutional knowledge is crucial, as memory is fallible, and people leave. The pandemic highlighted how quickly the museum field can lose talented people, underscoring the necessity of continued communication and collaboration to maintain these networks.

Ordeñana: Leadership and professional development opportunities that allow collaboration with internal staff and external colleagues have been crucial for my career. Building trust and authentic partnerships has been vital. Support for my growth as a leader and the flexibility to bring my whole self to work have been invaluable.

What have been your proudest accomplishments in your work, and why?

LuJan: Founding my own nonprofit museum of paleontology and building it from the ground up tops my list. Discovering new genus and species of dinosaurs, some soon to be named after me, is also one of my proudest accomplishments.

Angeloni: My biggest accomplishment has been the rollout of the Gallery Host program at the Cummer Museum. Building the team, improving onboarding and ongoing training, and watching my initial hires grow into team leads has been rewarding.

White: I am proud of my work to support low-income youth and families, particularly through the “Learning Lunchbox Model of Engagement,” which delivers STEAM content to underserved youth. This program has expanded to various settings, distributing over 350,000 kits across multiple states and countries. I am also proud of my advocacy work during the pandemic, supporting the inclusion of museums in the “Shuttered Venue Operators” grant program and testifying to the Ohio legislature on strategies to aid the museum industry.

Todd: My proudest accomplishment is building a team where marginalized people feel safe and can challenge the status quo. Creating an environment that centers care and wellness while committing to high-quality work has been an ongoing effort. Most of all, I am proud of nurturing a predominantly Black and Brown, disabled, and queer team.

Morehead: I am extremely proud of the work I have done over the past decade to launch Newfields’ Community Engagement Program. This program, built with more than 50 community partners, has facilitated the participation of over 100,000 members of the Indianapolis community. The record annual access program visitation is a testament to the power of working hand in hand with the community.

Ordeñana: A significant accomplishment was building relationships with local Indigenous communities through work involving a culturally significant animal. This opportunity led to numerous equitable partnerships and collaborations with tribes, advocating for their interests within traditional scientific and museum audiences.

What advice would you give to others seeking fulfillment in their museum careers?

LuJan: Be bold, think outside the box, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. This career path is a marathon, not a sprint, so making slow progress is not a bad thing. Lasting changes must be built on solid foundations, which may take years or even decades to accomplish.

Angeloni: Relationships and empathy are everything. Most of us are here because of our love of objects, but caring for people is just as important. Remember, the preservation and care of objects is a gift for future generations.

White: Consider the concept of servant leadership and “servant learning” in your work. Servant learning involves applying principles like empathy, healing, growing people, and inspiring action to advance learning systems in your community. Leverage partnerships to achieve your vision and mission. Also, deliver programs that impact the community beyond the museum’s walls, reaching community centers, churches, food banks, and homeless centers where the most vulnerable live and learn.

Todd: Take time for joy. Experience your museum as a visitor, not just as staff. Play, explore, learn, and engage; it will enrich your work. Spend extra time on tasks you enjoy, even if they’re not top priorities. Also, build community with other museum workers. Support one another, share your celebrations and sorrows, and remember that knowledge from outside the field is valuable too.

Chavez: Remind yourself what brought you into the field, the joy you experienced, what you are grateful for, and the collaborations you are proud of. Document these moments for yourself and posterity—not just for grants, performance reviews, and self-advocacy.

Ordeñana: Aim to open doors not only for yourself but for the next generation. Museums’ colonial pasts won’t vanish overnight, but lean into growth opportunities even when they are uncomfortable. People respect those who are humble, relatable, and transparent about their values. Use your platform and privilege to advocate for those with less voice, even if it involves discomfort and risk.

How do you foresee the evolution of museums in the future, and what steps are necessary to prepare for these changes?

LuJan: I envision numerous smaller satellite museums partnering with anchor institutions, creating jobs and opportunities to present our shared cultural and natural history.

White: Museums will increasingly extend beyond their physical walls through partnerships with schools, community organizations, nonprofits, and businesses. They will offer mobile programs, educational workshops, and cultural events addressing local needs. Investing in workforce development programs and digital platforms for online learning will be crucial. Training team members in partnership building and cultural competency will better serve diverse populations, preparing a diverse future workforce and promoting workforce skills in emerging fields.

Todd: Museums need to adapt to changing audiences and polarized political climates. They must be willing to do the internal work to create inclusive workplaces. Museums should become places that disrupt societal divisions and foster community building.

Morehead: Building a foundation for a more inclusive tomorrow, integrating evolving technologies, and applying diversity, equity, access, and inclusion lenses will be essential. Museums must transform from places to learn about culture into active contributors to the cultural landscape, ensuring all audiences feel connected and fostering a sense of belonging.

Chavez: To evolve and prepare for change, museums must first look within. To retain the talent of emerging professionals, we must pay living wages. Full stop. Otherwise, we lose talented people and cannot grow. The phrase “This is how things have always been done” can stifle new ideas. Make room for emerging professionals’ contributions and trust them to uphold your museum’s values.

Ordeñana: Museums need to reckon with their colonial past and address existing institutional barriers. Playing it safe and avoiding risks will render institutions irrelevant. Pathway programs and outreach initiatives are essential, but museums must also create safe and nurturing environments for diverse communities.

In what ways do you believe museums contribute to making the world a better place?

Angeloni: Museums provide a haven for those who want to be surrounded by beauty and connect with other cultures and experiences. When done right, they create a love of diversity and a method for connecting with other human beings.

White: Museums make the world better through service, uplifting communities, supporting workforce development, and championing advocacy on critical issues. They provide spaces for public dialogue, cultural events, and educational programs, fostering a sense of belonging and promoting cultural understanding. Museums also support educational equity, particularly for underserved populations, and offer insights into career pathways.

Todd: Museums convene people, building community and a sense of belonging. They celebrate culture and sustain marginalized cultures, broadening our understanding and building empathy. Museums make us feel alive through joy, awe, sadness, and excitement. They have the power to create structural change and make the world a better place.

Ordeñana: Museums inspire wonder and curiosity. Museums make knowledge accessible, regardless of background, through stunning exhibitions that cater to visual and experiential learners. Their collections can serve diverse communities, fostering connections to the past and ongoing learning.

Morehead: Museums center, educate, and open new worlds to explore. They challenge our understanding of the past, present, and future, pushing the boundaries of possibility. Museums have the ability to connect deeply with their communities, unifying us through shared history and aspirations, fostering curiosity and hope for a better tomorrow.