The Association of African American Museums Mellon Funded Working Group is a cohesive unit of African American Museum professionals that tackle three main areas of concern from the field. Those challenges include Security, Path to Accreditation, and Exhibition. Three groups of museum professionals from the African American museum field will work to tackle the areas through research, learning strategies, confronting issues, and developing solutions that can be shared via digital means and through AAAM’s in-person conferences. The goal is to establish a network and community of practice that can continue after the four-year grant period ends while increasing the knowledge and skills base of working group members and their institutions.

PARTICIPANTS

Renee Anderson

Dr. Reneé Anderson
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Collections Manager
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Kaila Austin

Kaila Austin
Artist, Public Historian and Community Activist
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Samuel Black

Samuel W. Black
African American Program at the Senator John Heinz History Center, Director
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Sydney Briggs

Sydney Briggs
Director of Collection and Exhibitions, The Studio Museum in Harlem and Associate Registrar, The Museum of Modern Art
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Dr. Bryan Carter

Dr. Bryan Carter
University of Arizona, Director of the Center for Digital Humanities and Associate Professor in Africana Studies
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S. Marquette Folley

S. Marquette Folley
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Content Director
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Julie Hart

Julie Hart
American Alliance of Museums, Senior Director for Museum Standards and Excellence
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Sabriyah Hassan

Sabriyah Hassan
Banneker-Douglass Museum, Program Director
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Jacqueline Hudson

Dr. Jacqueline Hudson
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Exhibitions Content Developer
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Christina Shutt

Christina Shutt
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Executive Director
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Synatra Smith

Dr. Synatra Smith
Afrofuturist Cultural Preservationist
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Deitrah J. Taylor

Deitrah J. Taylor
Joyeful Time Traveler LLC, Founder
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Lance Wheeler

Lance Wheeler
National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Director of Exhibitions
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Damika Baker-Wilson

Damika Baker-Wilson
Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, Director of Development
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ADVISORS

Dina M. Bennett

Dr. Dina Bennett
American Jazz Museum, Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs
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Andrew Feinberg

Andrew Feinberg
TimeLooper, Inc., Co-founder and Principal
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Dr. John Fleming

Dr. John Fleming
National Museum of African American Music, Director
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Kiah Graham

Kiah Akosua Asabea
Sirius Web Solutions, Senior IT Consultant and Principal
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Kathe Hambrick

Kathe Hambrick
2PRESERVE LLC, Founder
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Eric Jones

Eric Jones
AT&T, Director of Business Development, Capture, Proposals and Growth
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Elysian Koglmeier

Elysian Koglmeier
Artwork Archive, Head of Growth
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Beverly Robertson

Beverly Robertson
Greater Memphis Chamber, President and CEO
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