The John E. Fleming Award, the highest given, recognizes professionals who have contributed outstanding expertise and exceptional dedication to African and African American focused institutions nationally and internationally, through a career spanning 20 years or more.
Terri Lee Freeman was named President of The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (The Lewis Museum) in June 2023 after serving as its Executive Director since February 2021. The seventh person to helm the State’s largest museum devoted to African American history, Freeman is responsible for providing strategic leadership in furthering the museum’s mission as an educational and cultural institution. To that end, she has worked with the staff and board to develop a five-year strategic plan that culminates in a planned renovation of The Lewis Museum’s permanent history exhibition, a growth in visitors, membership, funding support and community outreach.
Under her leadership, the Lewis Museum has developed outstanding interactive exhibits, including a 20th anniversary commemorative exhibit on the life and legacy of Reginald F. Lewis, the first such exhibit to be developed. Freeman seeks to connect history to current events and expand the museum’s connection to the very rich and vibrant communities which make up the state of Maryland. She has increased partnerships with organizations and museums across the state. Her work with the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project led to a collaborative effort that designed and developed a new installation, Lynching in Maryland, in the Museum’s permanent exhibition. And in 2026 The Lewis will open its
new Kids Zone, under her leadership. Freeman has maintained the Museum as a very desirable event venue.
Prior to joining The Lewis Museum, Freeman served as President of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee for six years. During her tenure Freeman broadened the Museum’s reputation as the new public square, and oversaw the Museum’s MLK50 commemoration, an international commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. She designed and executed a seven-month-long dialogue program delving into issues of implicit bias and structural racism, “Unpacking Racism for Action,”.
Before the NCRM, Ms. Freeman served as President of the Greater Washington Community Foundation for 18 years. Her intense passion for the nonprofit sector and community was nurtured while serving as the founding executive director of the Freddie Mac Foundation; at the time, one of the five largest corporate foundations in the metropolitan Washington region.
Ms. Freeman currently serves on the boards of BoardSource, the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, Visit Baltimore, Capacity Interactive and the University of Dayton, her alma mater. In 2025, The AFRO identified her as one of the Best of Black Baltimore. In 2020, she was identified as an Outstanding Alum by the University of Dayton as well as Memphian of the Year by the Memphis Magazine. A frequently sought-after speaker, Ms. Freeman lives by the saying, “What is most important is what people say about you when you aren’t in the room.”
Freeman earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism/communication arts from the University of Dayton and her master’s degree in organizational communication management from Howard University.