Presenters
Allison Alonzy has worked with Ford’s Theatre Society since 2005 after graduating from the University of Connecticut with a BA in Communications. After serving as the House Manager for many years, in 2009 she became the first Visitor Services Manager at Ford’s Theatre. Allison and her staff work on the front line side by side with National Park Service Rangers to ensure smooth visitor flow and create engaging visitor experiences. In addition Allison works closely with the National Park Service on the Historical Interpreter volunteer program and oversees the volunteer usher program.
Ashish Bhagrath is the Manager for Web and New Media at the National Gallery of Canada, a Crown Corporation under the Federal Government of Canada. Ashish is responsible for managing and assuming overall responsibility for the design, development and implementation of web based systems, applications and infrastructure. Ashish manages both a technical team and non technical group of content providers who are responsible for architecture, hardware, software, design and standards.
Richard C. Cooper is the Manager of Interpretive Services at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center where he oversees the development and presentation of the overall interpretive educational strategies used with the general public in the exhibit galleries to include guided tours, demonstrations, self-guided activities and third-person interpretations. He also actively works with the Exhibits and Collections departments to develop the interpretation of traveling exhibitions. Rich came to the Freedom Center in the capacity of the Interpretive Services Coordinator where he was in charge of maintaining the day-to-day operations of the Interpretive Services program within the museum’s 150,000 square foot facility that opened in 2004. Rich received his B.A. in American History from the University of Cincinnati.
AAM award-winning producer Daniel Davis has worked as a multimedia producer for the NMAI since 1997. He is the producer and creative director for the Infinity of Nations app for the iPhone, the first bilingual exhibition app produced for the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Davis has been working as part of the Smithsonian Strategy and Initiatives team since 2011.
Jane Findlay is the Digital Participation Officer for Royal Museums Greenwich. She works cross-departmentally on shaping gallery-linked digital content, widening access to the Museum’s collections and increasing participation in programs across all audiences. Currently she is utilizing mobile platforms to develop new interpretive devices including custom designed in gallery tablet-based activities for secondary school audiences and a co-created geolocation app to enable other young people to explore the Greenwich World Heritage site. With 5 years experience of using digital content and social media as a way of diversifying museum collections and creating new layers of interpretation Jane is a passionate advocate for user generated content and co-curation.
Jon Hallenberg has been a web developer at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum since 1998. Jon leads the development of many of the dynamic applications on the Museum’s website in addition to the Museum’s custom content management system. Jon’s work extends onto the Museum floor where he is involved in the development of exhibition interactives as well as display kiosks. Jon is a core team member of the Web & New Media division, where he contributes to all aspects of the team’s projects, including user experience, information architecture, design, and development.
Kyle Jaebker is the Application Development Manager at the IMA. While at the IMA Kyle has used his background in software development to work with the IMA Lab team in building technology solutions for a variety of museum projects. Kyle has a real passion for using open source tools and the latest technologies to solve complex problems for both the IMA and the museum community at large. Prior to the IMA, Kyle worked for a contractor to the USGS in Sioux Falls, SD. While there he worked on the user-interface for satellite imagery browsing software and developed middleware applications through web services and database programming. In addition to his professional work, Kyle was a key contributor to the Open-Source project MODX.
Sarah Jencks became the first Director of Education at Ford’s Theatre Society in July 2007 with the charge of developing a dynamic program that integrates performance and museum education with learning about Abraham Lincoln, history and performance. The program serves 4000 students and teachers locally and 300 more across the country, with an emphasis on oratory and leadership. With colleagues, she established the Civil War Washington Education Collaborative, a model for place-based learning and professional development. Sarah has taught Social Studies, Language Arts, Drama, and Visual Art to students at all age levels in Virginia, Boston, Baltimore, and New York City. Most recently, she was Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Green Hedges School in Vienna, Virginia. Before that, she oversaw the professional development program of a state initiative funding long term partnerships between cultural organizations and schools across New York State. Sarah serves on the Board of Trustees for the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative and is a member of the strategic planning committee for D.C Voice, a non-partisan advocacy group for improvement in the DC public schools. Sarah holds a M.Ed. from the School Leadership Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an A.B. in American Civilization from Brown University.
Charlie Keitch
David Klevan is Senior Digital Engagement Strategist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He applies knowledge of instructional design and technology to further marketing, programmatic and educational goals across the institution. David supervises the museum’s strategies to deepen audience engagement via social media and mobile technologies. Prior to this, he coordinated the Museum’s partnership with Washington, DC public schools and co-developed the Museum’s program for law enforcement officers. His work has been featured in Twitter for Museums: Strategies and Tactics for Success (MuseumsEtc), The Participatory Museum (Nina Simon), and Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration (Chapter 6) (Kapp and O’Driscoll).
Eric Longo currently advises a range of clients on digital strategies, audience engagement, integrated communications as well as museums on mobile technology, mostly on operations and marketing. He has worked with the Smithsonian Institution, Cool Culture, and New York Road Runners. He is also the Executive Manager for Museum Computer Network, a professional association that supports technology professionals in museums and cultural heritage organizations. From 2001 to 2007, he was director of clients services for Antenna Audio, as such he led client relationships for with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Whitney Museum, AIC, Versailles and the Louvre. He then headed business development for another 2 years. Trained as a lawyer, he held various management roles in the publishing, advertising and media industries. Eric serves on the boar of the HIV Law Project and Pro Bono Lab (a French pro bono consulting startup). Originally from Paris, Eric has lived in New York since 1991.
Shelley Mannion manages a digital learning centre at The British Museum that offers a busy schedule of workshops for schools and families. Shelley designs, develops and delivers a variety of workshops for mobile devices. These include an augmented reality trail for Android phones and a tablet-based history game for teenagers. Before her career in museum education, she worked as a web designer and software developer, completing projects for companies and non-profits in six different countries. She has a degree in Art History from Smith College and a Masters in Communications for Cultural Heritage from the University of Lugano in Switzerland.
Working in the Department of Education at the Museum of Modern Art for over twelve years, Elizabeth Margulies designs, develops and coordinates MoMA’s wide array of Family Programs including gallery talks, workshops, artist talks, film programs, interactive spaces, web sites, audio, and printed activity guides. She collaborates with MoMA Retail and Chronicle Books on MoMA Modern Kids, a line of children’s books and products, and in 2010 co-authored, Make Art, Make Mistakes: A Creativity Sketchbook, published by Chronicle Books. Elizabeth holds a B.S. in theater from Skidmore College and an M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education.
Sheila McGuire is Manager of Learning Resources at the MIA, where she has worked since 1988. She connects visitors to the museum’s encyclopedic collection through school programs and curricula, participatory tours for diverse audiences including people with memory loss, and other interpretive strategies. She is co-author of a chapter about the innovative use of iPads on tours in AAM’s recent book, Mobile Apps for Museums: The AAM Guide to Planning and Strategy. She received her M.A. in art history from the University of Minnesota.
Charlie Moad leads the application development team towards providing open-source and reusable solutions for the IMA and the cultural community as a whole. His diverse programming background has helped the IMA provide internal solutions and bypass the communications barrier often experienced with museum consultants. He has been deeply involved in the integration of the museum’s collection and digital asset management systems with other frameworks, including the IMA’s main website. Before coming to the IMA, Charlie was an Associate Developer for the Scientific Data Analysis Lab, a Pervasive Technology Lab of Indiana University. There he worked on visualization and web service applications in the bioinformatics and life sciences realm. Charlie holds a M.S. in Computer Science from Indiana University.
Nancy Proctor heads up mobile strategy and initiatives for the Smithsonian Institution, and is co-chair of the Museums and the Web annual conference. With a PhD in American art history and a background in filmmaking, art curation and art criticism, Nancy Proctor published her first online exhibition in 1995. She co-founded TheGalleryChannel.com in 1998 with Titus Bicknell to present virtual tours of innovative exhibitions alongside comprehensive global museum and gallery listings. TheGalleryChannel was later acquired by Antenna Audio, where Nancy lead New Product Development from 2000-2008, introducing the company’s multimedia, sign language, downloadable, podcast and cell phone tours. She also directed Antenna’s sales in France from 2006-2007, and worked with the Travel Channel’s product development team. From 2008-2010 she was Head of New Media at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Nancy served as program chair for the Museums Computer Network (MCN) conference 2010-2011, and co-organizes the Tate Handheld conference among other gatherings for cultural professionals. She also manages MuseumMobile.info, its wiki and podcast series, and is Digital Editor of Curator: The Museum Journal.
Charlotte Sexton leads the Digital Media department at the National Gallery, London and is a multi-skilled digital professional focused on creating exemplary user experiences across the digital spectrum. She’s been responsible for the development of some of the most widely recognized, award-winning projects within the cultural sector, ranging from online, mobile, and kiosk. Now heavily focused on strategy, communication and change management, Charlotte has successfully stewarded the development of the National Gallery’s first Digital Engagement Strategy during 2010. Her goal has always been to identify and implement new approaches that will both inform and engage audiences whilst meeting key organizational objectives.
Robert Stein is the Deputy Director for Research, Technology and Engagement at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). In that role, Stein leads a wide range of activities for the museum including an extensive effort in media, web technology and software. Since 2006, he has shaped the way that the IMA has applied technology and media to the mission of the museum. As a result, the IMA is widely recognized as a leader among museums in the use of technology. Rob currently serves on the Board of the Museum Computer Network, has been an active member of the International Program Committee of Museums and the Web since 2007, and sits on the advisory committee for the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report for Museums since its inception in 2010. In 2007, Stein was picked by Indianapolis Business Journal as one of their “Forty under 40″, and also as one of Indy’s Best and Brightest by Junior Achievement. In 2011, the New York Times named Stein one of “Four to Follow” in museum technology. He continues to be active in speaking and writing on topics related to museum transparency, technology and scholarly research.
JoAnna Wasserman joined the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Education staff in October 2004. Her work has included the development of programs for the public, families, and targeted professional audiences. Currently, JoAnna serves as Education Initiatives Manager, leading the Museum’s outreach on the topic of propaganda. JoAnna received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Communication in 2000 and received an M.A.T. from the George Washington University in 2004. Prior to working with the Museum, JoAnna worked at Grey Worldwide, an advertising agency in New York.
