Susie Wilkening (she/her) has over 25 years of experience in museums, including nearly 20 years leading custom projects for museums as well as fielding groundbreaking national research on the role of museums in American society. As principal of Wilkening Consulting, she provides research leadership for the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, and is the primary author of most of the infographics Data Stories, which share research findings with the museum field. Additionally, she is the author of Audiences and Inclusion: A Primer for Cultivating More Inclusive Attitudes Among the Public and is the primary author of Life Stages of the Museum Visitor. Susie is a go-to expert on museums for the media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, NPR, and others.

Susie earned a BS in History, Technology, and Society from Georgia Tech and an MA from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. She resides in Seattle, and her husband and curious children often accompany her as she travels to various museums and historic sites.

Kristin Herron is Program Director for Design Arts and Museums at the New York State Council on the Arts.

Didi Barrett was elected to the New York State Assembly in a special election in March 2012 and is now in her sixth full term in office. A resident of the Hudson Valley for more than 30 years, she came to elected office after a career as a writer, museum professional and longtime leader of not-for-profit organizations. As a member of the Assembly, she is Chair of the Assembly’s Energy Committee, and also serves on the Committees on Agriculture, Environmental Conservation, and Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development.

Didi is passionate about the agricultural, environmental, historical, and cultural resources of the Hudson Valley and their critical importance as economic drivers and job creators. Her family has deep roots in the Hudson Valley and a long involvement with both Dutchess and Columbia Counties. In 1938, her grandfather and great-uncle first bought a farm in Ancramdale which remains in the family.

A lifetime advocate for women and girls, Didi spearheaded the creation of the Dutchess Girls Collaborative to support local girls and young women. She helped launch the North East Dutchess Fund (NED) of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and helped create the pioneering NED Corps program to deliver social services to this rural region and served on its affiliated Latino Roundtable. She is formerly a trustee of the Anderson Foundation for Autism and former board member of the Millbrook Education Foundation and of Sprout Creek Farm, an educational farm in Poughkeepsie. Didi’s other affiliations have included Girls Incorporated of NYC (founding chair), New York Women’s Foundation, Planned Parenthood of NYC, the Women’s Campaign Forum and NARAL Pro-Choice New York (former board member) and the American Folk Art Museum (trustee emeritus).