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Who We AreWe are educators, exhibit designers, interpretive planners, and administrators—advocates and allies—committed to institutional change and open dialog about the challenges facing museums.
The Empathetic Museum represents the collective work of museum professionals dedicated to a more inclusive future for the museum industry. We value and advocate for diversity of thought and authentic integration of empathy in museum practice. Our collaboration grew out of a series of informal conversations and an AAM Unconference Session in 2014. How could we, as an industry, approach the need for greater equality and representation using empathy as our lens? Are you ready to embrace empathetic practice? We'd love to hear from you. |
Gretchen Jennings
@gretchjenn
Museum Consultant and author of Museum Commons
Gretchen Jennings has worked in museums for over 30 years. She was a project director on traveling exhibitions Psychology and Invention at Play, both of which received AAM awards of excellence. She has been editor in chief of
The Journal of Museum Education and Exhibition. Currently she offers classes and workshops for university
museum studies programs, including the National Council of Science Museums in India; edits museum publications; and collaborates on projects contributing to social justice in the museum field. She blogs at Museum Commons
www.museumcommons.com, and is a member of the Museums & Race and MASSAction initiatives. She is also a
member of The Museum Group, an organization of museum consultants.
@gretchjenn
Museum Consultant and author of Museum Commons
Gretchen Jennings has worked in museums for over 30 years. She was a project director on traveling exhibitions Psychology and Invention at Play, both of which received AAM awards of excellence. She has been editor in chief of
The Journal of Museum Education and Exhibition. Currently she offers classes and workshops for university
museum studies programs, including the National Council of Science Museums in India; edits museum publications; and collaborates on projects contributing to social justice in the museum field. She blogs at Museum Commons
www.museumcommons.com, and is a member of the Museums & Race and MASSAction initiatives. She is also a
member of The Museum Group, an organization of museum consultants.
Janeen Bryant
@1Facilitateher
Non-profit & community leader, advocate and organizer
Janeen Bryant, the founder of Facilitate Movement, is a community engagement specialist and catalyst for building organizational capacity. Formerly Vice President of Education at the Levine Museum of the New South. Her work focuses on the power of interpersonal communication, the impact of shifting demographics on visitor interactions and experiential learning activities to make social change history relevant and accessible to any learner. She is active in multiple industry-wide initiatives including Museums & Race and MASSAction.
@1Facilitateher
Non-profit & community leader, advocate and organizer
Janeen Bryant, the founder of Facilitate Movement, is a community engagement specialist and catalyst for building organizational capacity. Formerly Vice President of Education at the Levine Museum of the New South. Her work focuses on the power of interpersonal communication, the impact of shifting demographics on visitor interactions and experiential learning activities to make social change history relevant and accessible to any learner. She is active in multiple industry-wide initiatives including Museums & Race and MASSAction.
Stacey Mann
@smanny
Learning Strategist for exhibitions, programs, & partnerships
Stacey Mann is an experience designer and learning scientist specializing in interpretive planning, content development, and digital strategy for museums and informal learning environments. She collaborates with educators, curators, designers, technologists, and diverse community stakeholders to design cohesive interpretive strategies that maximize learning potential and amplify the impact of museums and cultural institutions both onsite and online. Her award-winning work in exhibition, program, resource, digital, and pedagogical design targets history, science, civics, arts
and culture, media literacy, social justice, and human rights. She is also a Senior Lecturer in Digital Interpretation at the
University of the Arts. As the founding director of strategic initiatives for UNSILENCE, Stacey directs content development,
learning experience design, and strategic planning for this human rights education non-profit based in Chicago, IL.
Through her active involvement with industry-wide initiatives including The Empathetic Museum and Museums & Race,
she advocates for diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in museum practice.
@smanny
Learning Strategist for exhibitions, programs, & partnerships
Stacey Mann is an experience designer and learning scientist specializing in interpretive planning, content development, and digital strategy for museums and informal learning environments. She collaborates with educators, curators, designers, technologists, and diverse community stakeholders to design cohesive interpretive strategies that maximize learning potential and amplify the impact of museums and cultural institutions both onsite and online. Her award-winning work in exhibition, program, resource, digital, and pedagogical design targets history, science, civics, arts
and culture, media literacy, social justice, and human rights. She is also a Senior Lecturer in Digital Interpretation at the
University of the Arts. As the founding director of strategic initiatives for UNSILENCE, Stacey directs content development,
learning experience design, and strategic planning for this human rights education non-profit based in Chicago, IL.
Through her active involvement with industry-wide initiatives including The Empathetic Museum and Museums & Race,
she advocates for diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in museum practice.
Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell
@KayleighBinDC
Museum Educator
Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, is a Washington, D.C. native and cultural planner with over 10 years of museum and gallery experience, devoted to exploring ways to cultivate marginalized audiences through art, museum, and social justice practice. As Head of Public Programs with Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery she is responsible for an extensive calendar of programs across two museums, leading new outreach and inclusion initiatives towards developing new audiences and cultivating public engagement. She serves on the Board of Washington Project
for the Arts, and on the Artist Selection Committee of Halcyon Arts Lab and VisArts in Rockville, MD. She received her
Bachelor of Art in Art History from the University of Maryland, College Park and Master of Art in Museum Studies from
George Washington University.
@KayleighBinDC
Museum Educator
Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, is a Washington, D.C. native and cultural planner with over 10 years of museum and gallery experience, devoted to exploring ways to cultivate marginalized audiences through art, museum, and social justice practice. As Head of Public Programs with Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery she is responsible for an extensive calendar of programs across two museums, leading new outreach and inclusion initiatives towards developing new audiences and cultivating public engagement. She serves on the Board of Washington Project
for the Arts, and on the Artist Selection Committee of Halcyon Arts Lab and VisArts in Rockville, MD. She received her
Bachelor of Art in Art History from the University of Maryland, College Park and Master of Art in Museum Studies from
George Washington University.
Jim Cullen
Consultant in HR management, facilitation & strategic planning for non-profits
A Chartered Professional in Human Resources (Canada), Jim Cullen’s career spans three decades in human resources and general management in the corporate and non-profit sectors. He has consulted in strategic and business planning with a specialty in museums and non-profits, workshop facilitation and human resources management since 2003 and
has led many strategic and business plans with non-profit and heritage organizations. A long-time volunteer and member of several non-profit boards, Jim holds an Honors Business degree with distinction (University of Western Ontario), a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies (University of Leicester) and completed the Getty’s Museum Management Institute program.
Consultant in HR management, facilitation & strategic planning for non-profits
A Chartered Professional in Human Resources (Canada), Jim Cullen’s career spans three decades in human resources and general management in the corporate and non-profit sectors. He has consulted in strategic and business planning with a specialty in museums and non-profits, workshop facilitation and human resources management since 2003 and
has led many strategic and business plans with non-profit and heritage organizations. A long-time volunteer and member of several non-profit boards, Jim holds an Honors Business degree with distinction (University of Western Ontario), a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies (University of Leicester) and completed the Getty’s Museum Management Institute program.
Charlette Hove
Exhibition Designer
Charlette is currently working as an Exhibition Designer and is focused on integrating social and empathetic practice into all aspects of development and design. She has a BFA in Fine Arts: Multi-disciplinary and an MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning & Design from the University of the Arts, where she concentrated her graduate thesis on accessibility and inclusionary methods for collections-based museums. Charlette is passionate about human rights, social justice, accessibility design and strategies for visitors with learning disabilities.
Exhibition Designer
Charlette is currently working as an Exhibition Designer and is focused on integrating social and empathetic practice into all aspects of development and design. She has a BFA in Fine Arts: Multi-disciplinary and an MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning & Design from the University of the Arts, where she concentrated her graduate thesis on accessibility and inclusionary methods for collections-based museums. Charlette is passionate about human rights, social justice, accessibility design and strategies for visitors with learning disabilities.
Jackie Peterson
Museum Consultant
Jackie is an independent museum consultant with a focus on exhibit development, curation and writing for history museums,
historic sites and other cultural institutions. With over twelve years of exhibits experience, she has worked nationally with
museums, communities and stakeholders to uncover and illuminate meaningful stories to create authentic, truthful and
enlightening exhibitions. Jackie leverages the power of language and narrative to create exhibitions that attest to the nuances
of our human experience, spark conversation and bring people together. Much of Jackie’s independent work has focused on storytelling through exhibitions highlighting the experiences and lives of African Americans in Washington State. Prior to
pursuing an independent consulting career, Jackie served as a content developer and coordinator at the exhibition design firm
Ralph Appelbaum Associates Inc. in New York. Jackie is passionate about equity in the museum field and grounds her work in the framework of diversity, access, equity and inclusion (DEAI). She serves on the steering committee for Museums & Race, an
initiative that seeks equity and justice for people of color in the museum field.
Museum Consultant
Jackie is an independent museum consultant with a focus on exhibit development, curation and writing for history museums,
historic sites and other cultural institutions. With over twelve years of exhibits experience, she has worked nationally with
museums, communities and stakeholders to uncover and illuminate meaningful stories to create authentic, truthful and
enlightening exhibitions. Jackie leverages the power of language and narrative to create exhibitions that attest to the nuances
of our human experience, spark conversation and bring people together. Much of Jackie’s independent work has focused on storytelling through exhibitions highlighting the experiences and lives of African Americans in Washington State. Prior to
pursuing an independent consulting career, Jackie served as a content developer and coordinator at the exhibition design firm
Ralph Appelbaum Associates Inc. in New York. Jackie is passionate about equity in the museum field and grounds her work in the framework of diversity, access, equity and inclusion (DEAI). She serves on the steering committee for Museums & Race, an
initiative that seeks equity and justice for people of color in the museum field.
Ryan Hill
Educator
Ryan Hill is an educator, community partner, and administrative leader. His experience working in five very different museums
over the last twenty years has strengthened his commitment to institutional change and growth. His past education programs
have been studied as a national model for serving local communities. During his almost ten years at the Hirshhorn Museum, his innovative digital center for local teens was awarded the Smithsonian Innovation in Education award. Ryan has led professional workshops at a variety of institutions, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Las Vegas and Bilboa, many Smithsonian museums and KOFAC in Seoul, Korea. He has presented on and contributed
writing to journals and books on museum education, professional practices, and queer performance art. Ryan is invested in helping
institutions to embrace a range of perspectives, accessible thought, and civic action.
Educator
Ryan Hill is an educator, community partner, and administrative leader. His experience working in five very different museums
over the last twenty years has strengthened his commitment to institutional change and growth. His past education programs
have been studied as a national model for serving local communities. During his almost ten years at the Hirshhorn Museum, his innovative digital center for local teens was awarded the Smithsonian Innovation in Education award. Ryan has led professional workshops at a variety of institutions, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Las Vegas and Bilboa, many Smithsonian museums and KOFAC in Seoul, Korea. He has presented on and contributed
writing to journals and books on museum education, professional practices, and queer performance art. Ryan is invested in helping
institutions to embrace a range of perspectives, accessible thought, and civic action.
We owe thanks and gratitude to our colleagues who have contributed to the discussion and development of the Empathetic Museum framework, in particular Rainey Tisdale (@raineytisdale) and Elissa Frankle (@museum365).
