Conference Co-Chair

Responsibility & Empowerment: A Civic Role for Jewish Museums

Council of American Jewish Museums

Goal | Move museum professionals to direct their work toward inspiring their constituencies toward civic action.

Held in February 2018, this four-day, multi-venue conference and one-day workshop considered how museums can and should empower their visitors toward greater communal and civic action. Beginning from the premise that museums have long been part of civic life, the public square, and society at large, the program asked how museums must use their missions to address 'of-the-moment' topics, when to take risks, and what are these institutions' responsibilities as public centers. As co-chair, I helped develop the overall focus of the conference, guided panel presentations, and orchestrated a post-conference workshop on building the museum of the twenty-first century. I worked with dozens of professionals to create this program, which attracted roughly 200 participants from around the world.

Read the conference program.