The Association of African American Museums (AAAM) stands as the principal voice of the African American museum movement, providing support, respite, and abundant educational opportunities. For more than four decades, AAAM has successfully preserved African and African American histories. Today, the organization is committed to continuing that legacy by ensuring current and emerging museum leaders have the requisite knowledge and experience to continue that work. This is where our latest offering, a specially designed executive training program, comes in.

Fulfilling a Need

When I was hired as AAAM’s Executive Director in 2019, I had more than a decade of experience as a member. I was acquainted with the mission and makeup of the membership and had a clear vision of how to take the organization to the next level. First and foremost, I wanted to sit down with present and past board presidents and leaders of our field to gain a better understanding of why AAAM—with an enormous amount of talent at its disposal—had not launched a certificate program that would help bolster our leaders and allow us to remain a leader in the industry.

Given the lack of executive trainings on the market that specifically supported the needs of African-American-focused museum professionals, I endeavored to build a program that considered the unique needs of AAAM members. After my own experiences with one-size-fits-all programs, I knew our members deserved a training tailored to their specific experiences. They needed a safe space to unpack and confront the trauma and complexity of protecting and preserving African American history and culture. They also needed help navigating the museum field as Black professionals—a space to confidentially acknowledge barriers they have faced and receive support in overcoming them from leaders with shared experiences.

As I began to meet with stakeholders to discuss this vision, time after time I was told the same thing: we needed more funding and more capacity. With all of our efforts tied to AAAM’s annual conference, our ability to implement a new educational program was limited. Still, despite these limitations, I continued to believe in my vision. To help overcome the roadblocks ahead, I made it my mission to find the perfect partner. I needed a collaborator who would help us provide a great service to our members and supporters, teaching both general leadership skills and the nuances of working with African art and African-American-focused museums.

That perfect partner—Howard University, one of the oldest historically Black universities and my alma mater.

Leaning into a Legacy

As we began interviewing various schools and programs, it did not take very long to decide that Howard University’s School of Business Executive Education & Center for Career Excellence was the right home for this particular partnership. Partnering with Howard would not only pay homage to our many founding members with connections to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), but would give us access to an already thriving executive leadership program with international reach. I thought of the wise words once spoken by Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Roz Brewer, who emphasized that leaders should be both founder-inspired and mission-driven. The program was already set up for success, and through a strong budding partnership, AAAM would be able to curate a great opportunity that was specific to our members. With the full support of AAAM’s board, we officially moved forward with the program.

In 2022, the AAAM x Howard University Advanced Executive Training Program was officially born. We were excited to offer a space for AAAM members to feel safe sharing challenges they were facing in their organizations and provide tools that these emerging leaders could immediately apply towards solutions. Partnering with Howard also ensured that the foundational elements of the training would remain consistent as the program continues to evolve.

Funding for Accessibility

There was only one minor issue: we needed to find funding to support access to the program for our members. I knew how often they find their professional development line items struck from their budgets and wanted to ensure they did not have to choose between participating in our annual conference and the training. AAAM members deserve both! From that point on, it was imperative for me to find funding to offset the $2,500 per person cost for the training. AAAM’s development coordinator and I created a plan to do this, moving quickly so we didn’t lose the interest of our members or Howard as a partner.

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As we researched funders, we quickly realized that our task was much bigger than what we initially anticipated. Thankfully, we had already been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., and I quickly requested a budget modification to move funds from one line item to another to cover a portion of the tuition for members, requiring just a $125 enrollment fee. (The training would cost $2,500 for non-members.) With approved modifications from our funder, we signed a contract with Howard’s School of Business and started our inaugural cohort for the AAAM x HUSB Advanced Executive Training in 2022.

As we rejoiced over providing this new professional development opportunity, I looked ahead to the next round of participants. Again, we would need funding. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Museum Grants for African American History and Culture program seemed a viable option. We applied for funding with amazing proof points, implemented a waitlist for AAAM members, and secured the School of Business as our partner for another year of training. In 2023, we received the great news that we were awarded an IMLS grant for over $130,000 to support the program for two years. Our ability to be focused, yet nimble and flexible, paid off through growing program stability. We quickly got to work with the School of Business to make the program bigger and better.

The Training: Learning from the Best

The program’s comprehensive curriculum includes live virtual sessions in conscientious leadership, strategic design thinking, the emerging nonprofit business case, executive fundraising, strategic community relations, and a team capstone project. Each iteration continues to evolve to match the current needs of our members.

From the beginning, program participants met virtually so we could continue to provide access to members throughout the country. By making certain access was available to our members, we could provide an environment that was similar to our annual conferences, allowing members to connect regardless of where they were located. From the first day of the training, the program was an immediate sensation with our members. They were able to discuss everything that would enable them to create their own successful strategic plans. In addition, participants shared and learned from the experiences of one another—iron sharpening iron. The participants asked industry leaders thought-provoking questions and discussed strategies for elevating their careers. The results were absolutely magical: never in our wildest dreams did we anticipate seeing more than 85 percent of our certificate recipients accepting leadership roles within a year. Not that we doubted the program, but the pace for participants’ return on investment was phenomenal and a welcome surprise. It also gave us the confirmation we needed to demonstrate that this specialized leadership program was needed—and effective!

This crown jewel of AAAM’s educational offerings has drawn accolades from the organization’s founders—which I deem one of the highest forms of praise. At AAAM’s 2022 conference in Miami, Dr. John E. Fleming commended us for this very important work.

“When Vedet told me about the program at Howard, it gave me goosebumps because, for the first time, we have a place we can go for leadership training and it is a place where we know we will be welcomed … If you look back over the history of the association, I think this is going to be the most outstanding accomplishment that we have achieved over the past forty-four years,” he said.

The 2024 Advanced Executive Training took place in April and continued to build on the success of the first two trainings, cultivating a safe space where museum professionals can learn from the best in the business. The training was once again a success, and we are eagerly awaiting to see where our certificate recipients will be in the coming years.

For more information on AAAM and the Advanced Executive Training, visit blackmuseums.org or join the waiting list for the 2025 session.