The Inclusive Museum Leader

Working in museums for more than twenty years, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko believes they have the power to change lives, inspire movements, and challenge authority. A museum director since 2001, Cinnamon is a frequent presenter at national museum meetings and is often asked to comment on national museum issues. As the president/CEO of the Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor) from 2009 to 2019, she was the motivational leader behind the museum's decolonization initiative, working with the Native communities in Maine to develop policies and protocols to ensure collaboration and cooperation with Wabanaki people. Prior to joining the Abbe in 2009, Cinnamon was the director of the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum in Crawfordsville, Indiana where she led the organization to the National Medal for Museum Service in 2008. In 2019, Cinnamon became the director of the Illinois State Museum. Cinnamon holds a BA in anthropology and art history from Purdue University, and is a graduate of the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) MA program in anthropology with a specialization in museum studies. In 2016 Cinnamon gave her first TEDx talk, We Must Decolonize Our Museums (www.tedxdirigo.com) and she's been featured on the Museopunks podcast series. She's the author of Museum Administration 2.0 (2016) published by Rowman & Littlefield, The Art of Healing: The Wishard Art Collection (2004) published by the Indiana Historical Society, and co-editor of the Small Museum Toolkit (2012) published by Rowman & Littlefield. Chris Taylor spent 15 years working in museums, primarily at the Minnesota Historical Society. He began his career as an educator, but quickly saw the power that history can have on an individual’s identity. Through the stories they elevate (or suppress), museums have the power to either fortify or disrupt the status quo, but Chris came to understand that this must be an intentional choice. He began teaching undergraduate courses at the University of Minnesota on “Diversity in the Museum Field” as part of a museum fellowship program designed to increase the diversity of museum professionals. At the Minnesota Historical Society, he successfully created the department of inclusion and community engagement to steward the museums systemic efforts for inclusion and equity. He also became the first chief inclusion officer in the museum field, a role he occupied for 4 years. Museums around the country sought out Chris as a consultant for their inclusion and equity efforts. In 2019, Chris Taylor was recruited to become the chief inclusion officer for the state of Minnesota, one of only two states to have such a position. There he leads the development and implementation of a statewide strategy for inclusion and equity across over 20 state agencies. His publications include "Getting Our House in Order: Moving from Diversity to Inclusion" published in The American Archivist.

Frontmatter

Quotes

Preface

PART ONE - SETTING THE STAGE

1. With Fierce Intention

by Joanne Jones-Rizzi (she/her)

Black/bi-racial/queer/cisgender/no known disabilities

2. The Three-Body Problem of Museums

by Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko (she/her)

White/female/straight/cisgender/middle class/no known disabilities

3. Creating the Just Leader: Inclusive Leadership and Organizational Justice

by Chris Taylor (he/him)

biracial/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities



Two Change Agents, Two Cups of Coffee: A Conversation between Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Chris Taylor

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Chris Taylor

Examining Implicit Bias Activity

PART TWO - CHANGE IS REQUIRED

5. Anatomy of a Movement

by Armando Perla (he/him)

POC/Latinx/male/queer/cisgender/living with disabilities

6. How Should Inclusive Museum Leadership Respond to COVID-(16)19?

by Omar Eaton-Martínez (he/him)

Black Puerto Rican/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

7. Hope is Not a Metaphor: An Annotated Guide to 25 Essential Skills for Museum Leaders

by Lisa Yun Lee (she/her)

Asian/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

8. 2020: A Harsh Teacher for Leaders

by Terri Lee Freeman (she/her)

Black/female/cisgender/no known disabilities

9. Doing the Work: Because Checking the Box is not Enough

by Dina A. Bailey (she/her)

biracial/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

10. To Be of Use and Beloved: A Conversation with Kelly McKinley

Kelly McKinley (she/her)

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

The Johari Window Activity

PART THREE - INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP

11. Dear White Colleague: Thoughts on Inclusive Museum Leadership from a Colleague of Color

by Lisa Sasaki (she/her)

Asian American/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

12. Beyond a Scarcity Mindset: My Path Toward Inclusive Leadership

by Ashley Rogers (she/her)

White/female/cisgender/no known disabilities

13. Diary of a Woke Latina Leader

by Susana Smith Bautista (she/her)

White/Latina/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Developing Self Awareness Activity

14. Motion Sickness: Care, Compassion, and the Future of Museums

by Esme Ward

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

15. 8:46:40

by Devon M. Akmon (he/him)

Arab American/male

16. Grounded in Community: A Conversation with Stacey Halfmoon

Stacey Halfmoon (she/her)

American Indian/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

The Ladder of Inference Activity

PART FOUR – VALUES AND ACTION

17. Inclusive Design Centers Disabled People’s Agency

by Beth Ziebarth (she/her)

disabled/female/white/straight/cisgender

18. Begin with the End in Mind: Inclusion as a Core Museum Practice

by LaNesha DeBardelaben (she/her)

Black/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

19. Museum Leaders as Allies for Queer Inclusion

by Margaret Middleton (they/them)

White/genderqueer/no known disabilities

20. Leading Change at the Speed of Trust: A Conversation with Ben Garcia

Ben Garcia (he/him)

Latinx/cisgender/queer/no known disabilities

Identifying Values Activity

PART FIVE - CHOOSING YOUR ENVIRONMENT

21. How to Spot an Inclusive Leader and Choose to Work for Them

by Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell (she/her)

Black/biracial/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

22. Teaching the Change We Want to See: A Conversation with Faculty at Museum Training Programs

Elizabeth Kryder-Reid (she/her)

​White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Stacey Mann (she/her)

White/female/cisgender/no known disabilities

Therese Quinn (she/her/they/them)

queer/cisgendered female/labeled White, aiming to be a race traitor/raised working class, still paycheck-to-paycheck

Cynthia Robinson (she/her)

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Mattie Reynolds (she/her)

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma/female/straight

Gretchen Sullivan Sorin (she/her)

African American/female

23. Helping Boards to See Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Clearly: A Conversation with Naree Viner

Naree W.S. Viner (she/her)

Asian/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

24. Practical Ambition: Positioning Inclusive Board Member Ethic as Basic Board Duty

by Tonya M. Matthews (she/her/dr)

African-American/female/straight/cisgender/hidden disability

25. Building Inclusivity With and Within the Board

by Lori Fogarty

White/female/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Taking Inventory Activity

PART SIX - LOOKING AHEAD

26. What Kind of Ancestor Will I Be?

by Bob Beatty (he/him)

White/male/straight/cisgender/single-sided deafness from infancy

27. Stepping Out to Step In: A Conversation with nikhil trivedi

nikhil trivedi (he/him)

South Asian/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities/middle class/raised working class/Hindu/US citizen

28. A Call to Action: Putting Inclusion to Work

by Robert ‘Bert’ Davis (he/him)

African American/male/straight/cisgender/no known disabilities

Developing Your Leadership Philosophy Activity

End Matter

Epilogue

Author Bios