EXPERIENCE
Access Consultant — Independent Contractor
Jun 2022 - Present
As an independent contractor, I work with cultural institutions on disability centered DEIA initiatives (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access). With an intersectional approach, cultural institutions can grow their reach and increase their relevance to contemporary audiences that have historically been excluded.
For an abridged list, please scroll to the bottom of CV. For a full CV, please inquire.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO — Director, Community Programs and Partnerships
Jan 2021 - Jun 2022
Strategy and Leadership: Create and implement a comprehensive and sustainable plan for community engagement that cultivates partnerships, enhances awareness and visibility, diversifies the museum’s reach, ensures accessibility, and promotes equity and inclusion.
Community and Access Program Development: Oversees and develops an balanced portfolio of community and access programs including but not limited to: cultural festivals, family programs, community workshops, access programs and tours, artist collaborations, and public programs in alignment with the museum’s mission.
Community Partnership and External Relations: Establishes, cultivates, and strengthens respectful, reciprocal, and productive partnerships with individuals and community groups.
Evaluation and Program Assessment: Identify benchmarks, outcomes, performance indicators, and metrics to ensure quality and effectiveness of community programs and partnerships and implement modifications.
Budget Management and Financial Sustainability: Develops and manages fiscal plans that support departmental and institutional goals. Implements responsible program cost controls. Reviews and approves contracts and expenses. Work collaboratively with development on fundraising opportunities.
Staff Management and Development: Recruits, train, and manage the activity and development of staff, volunteers, and interns. Establishes priorities and creates work flows.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO — Manager, Community and Access Programs
July 2019 - December 2020
Program Design, Facilitation, and Implementation: Develops and implements art workshops and experiences for youth and adult groups that reflect the museum’s collections and exhibitions and respond to audience interests, experiences, and assets.
Community and Access Partnerships: Identifies and builds meaningful relationships that foster engagement, trust, and collaboration with organizations that serve audiences that have historically been marginalized in museums, including people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, and seniors.
Supervision and Training: Hires, trains, supervises, and evaluates part-time and on-call Teaching Artists and Assistants to lead community and access workshops onsite and in the community.
Research and Evaluation:Researches changing demographics and cultural trends and their impact on arts, culture, and audiences.
Collaboration and Consultation: Serves as a resource to advance access and inclusion across the organizations by collaboration with all museum departments.
Administration: Assists in the creation of budgets; manages program expenditures.
Whitney Museum of American Art, NY NY— Coordinator of Access and Community Programs
October 2016 - June 2019
Develop and manage programs for the Access and Community Programs Department; institute improvements, and evaluate and report on progress of goals and objectives
Develop and implement museum policies to ensure compliance on accessibility for people with disabilities.
Consult for departments across the institution for ADA compliance and best practices
Develop and conduct regular trainings for staff and volunteers who work with visitors on museum access ability and ADA compliance
Supervise and schedule a team of freelance educators
Whitney Museum of American Art, NY NY — Assistant to Access and Community Programs
November 2015 - September 2016
Assisted with educational programs that serve diverse audiences in including people with disabilities, immigrants, LGTBQ youth, and unhoused peoples
Assisted with Public Engagement including outreach, audience development initiatives, large-scale public programs, and smaller scale artist workshops
Coordinated the production of accessible materials and accommodations for exhibitions and digital media assets; including large print guides, transcripts, captioning, touch objects, and more.
Whitney Museum of American Art, NY NY — Intern, Access and Community Programs
Summer 2015
Provided administrative assistance and classroom support for the Access and Community programs department
Assisted with the preparation, maintenance, and delivery of auxiliary aids for accessible gallery experiences
Department Research
Collaborated with the Education Department to develop, manage, and upload content for the Whitney Museum Website
*Work experience prior to 2015 available upon request*
EDUCATION
- Institute for Social Change, NY NY — Facilitative leadership for change, Certificate of completion, 2019
- City University New York, NY NY — MA Candidate, Disability studies 2014
- Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore MD — BFA, painting2011, Cum Laude
Honors
Mellon Foundation |2023 & 2024| Advisory Board
Artist Advocates in Residency Program |2023| Artist in Residence
Arts kc |2020 & 2021| Grant review board
Museum Educators of Southern California, annual institute |2021| Keynote speaker
The Whole Person |2020-2022| Board member
Strange Fire |2019| online publication
Crip the Met |2019| participant
Flux factory: TALKBACK |2019| Artist participant
Museum Access Consortium |2017| Steering committee member
Leadership Exchange in Arts and disability|2017|Presenter
New York Museum Education Roundtable Conference|2017|Presenter
Includenyc|2017|Presenter
Whitney Museum of American Art |2016|J20 Presenter
Inclusion Symposium, CCNY Graduate Symposium |2015| Presenter
Woodside |2014| Artist in Residence
Creative Clay |2012| Guest Artist
Emanuel Herman ’39 Prize 2010
CONSULTING AND FREELANCE (abridged)
I Wanna Be with You Everywhere, Access Coordination, 2023-2024
American Alliance of Museums, Training, 2023
9/11 Memorial and Museum, Training and Consulting, 2023
Brooklyn Historical Center, Image description, 2023
The Guggenheim Museum, Audio description, 2023
Storm King Art Center, Visual description training and audio description, 2023
United States Artists, Image descriptions, 2021, 2022, 2023
Museum of Modern Art, Freelance Education, 2022 - Present
Creatives Rebuild New York, Image descriptions, 2022
Oral History Association, Authored their access resource guide, 2022
Wex Arts Center, Alt-Text Training, 2022
Whitney Museum of American Art, Audio Description, 2022
Cooper Hewit, Virtual Programming Guide advisory, 2022
Playwrights Horizons, Disability 101 training, 2022
New York Foundation for the Arts, Lead consultant for “Artists with Disabilities Grant, 2022
Blythedale Children’s Hospital, Disability 101 training, 2022
Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Disability 101 training, 2022
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Image description training, 2022
New York Foundation for the Arts, Consultant, 2022
The Theatre Offensive, Mentor, 2022
CUNY Cultural Career Course, Guest Speaker, 2021 & 2022
American Alliance of Museums, co-author Accessible Communication guidelines, 2021
Accessible Arts Greater Kansas City Roundtable, Training, 2021
KC IDEAs Roundtable, Training, 2020
Charlotte Street Foundation, Consulting and staff training, 2020
TBD Salon, Consulting and staff training, 2020
Laundromat Project, Consulting, 2020
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Consulting, 2020
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Consulting and training, 2020
United Artists Disability Futures, Consultant, 2020
The Wing(NYC), Consultation, 2019
The Mutter Museum, Consultation and training, 2016