What is Valued at Your Museum/Historic Site PART 2

75-minute session

Location: Hilton Albany, Governor C

Day/Time: Monday, April 8 // 11 AM - 12:15 PM

About: Using the Underground Railroad Education Center (UREC) experience as a case study, dig deeply with staff from the UREC in a thought-provoking conversation that examines what is valued at your museum/historic site, why those values are held, and how those values are portrayed, and examine what revisions might be implemented to make improvements. We’ll conversationally visit spaces, narratives, collections, stories, voices, themes, grounds, buildings, staffing, welcoming strategies, exhibit titles and content, and more, journeying together through our personal and collective experiences, looking for ways to improve who we are and what we do by understanding more deeply the why of our experiences.

Presenters:

Mary Liz Stewart, Co-founder and Executive Director, Underground Railroad Education Center

Mary Liz has conducted seminal research, organized hundreds of programmatic opportunities to connect the public with the humanities, spoken publicly on hundreds of occasions, engaged in the planning and implementation of fundraising and promotional campaigns, and designed instructional materials and exhibit content since 1998. Presentations at numerous education and history related conferences have contributed to expanding an understanding of contemporary thinking related to historic sites, their sustainability, and their relationship with heritage tourism and economic revitalization.

Paul Stewart, Co-founder amd Co-administrator, Underground Railroad Education Center

Paul has conducted seminal research, organized hundreds of programmatic opportunities to connect the public with the humanities, spoken publicly on hundreds of occasions, engaged in the planning and implementation of fundraising and promotional campaigns, and designed instructional materials and exhibit content since 1998. Presentations at numerous education and history related conferences have contributed to expanding an understanding of contemporary thinking related to historic sites, their sustainability, and their relationship with heritage tourism and economic revitalization.

Marcus Kwame Anderson, Deputy Director, Underground Railroad Education Center

Marcus, as Cartoonist/Illustrator, won the Eisner Award for The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History. He illustrated the all-ages detective story Cash and Carrie, and co-created and illustrated the comic book series Snow Daze. As Deputy Director at UEChe designs and implements teen programming, works with focus group facilitators to create impactful youth experiences and participates in program specific fundraising. Previously Marcus was Living Resources Gallery Manager and Intellectual Disabilities Professional Art Instructor.

Amelia Paul, Youth, Family & Senior Program Coordinator, Underground Railroad Education Center

As the Family, Youth and Seniors Program Coordinator, Amelia is tasked with organizing, presenting and supporting programming for the target audiences of Families, Youth and Seniors for Underground Railroad Education Center. Prior to her position with UREC Amelia has held various administrative positions in NYS government. She is a dedicated theater arts participant, taking on lead acting roles as well as being Board Member, Stage Manager and Assistant Producer with local community theater companies.