JAMES PEPPER HENRY EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNIVERSITY OF OREGON Eugene, Oregon BA, Fine Arts, 1988 PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY Portland, Oregon Fine Arts Graduate School Study, 1992 HARVARD UNIVERSITY Center for the Study of World Religions Cambridge, Massachusetts Participant, Stewards of the Sacred Project, 2002 to 2004 THE GETTY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE Los Angeles, California Graduate, Museum Leadership Institute, 2007 CAREER HISTORY 2007 to Present ANCHORAGE MUSEUM AT RASMUSON CENTER Anchorage, Alaska Director and Chief Executive Officer Organizational Leadership / Program Development and Execution / Fiscal and Personnel Management Evolved the Anchorage Museum into a world-renowned institution that: advances the visual arts; expands knowledge and exposure to the history and ethnographic treasures of Alaska s peoples; enlightens visitors to the world of science and technology; builds the museum s reputation for collection, curatorial and exhibition excellence, and programmatic innovation, and; increases the museum s stature as a valued civic and cultural asset in Anchorage, Alaska and the circumpolar north. Responsible for the development and management of an annual operating budget of approximately $10 million, 75 employees, 170,000-square-foot facility, and a collection of over 500,000 historic photographs, art and artifacts, and archival records. Developed and implemented a strategic plan to provide clear and concise goals and objectives for the museum during the expansion phase and through fiscal years 2012-15; established an annual work plan to inform the annual budget and identify specific tasks and activities to be
Page 2. accomplished in the fiscal year. Developed a staffing plan to reorganize museum departments and units to better align with strategic goals and objectives and to meet programming and services needs in advance of the expansion opening. Facilitated the successful absorption and integration of The Imaginarium, a local children s science center, into the Anchorage Museum. Responsible for developing a brand foundation and messaging/ communications strategy in advance of the expansion opening that will be the roadmap for spoken and written communications for the museum moving forward. Increased net assets by $1.1 million in 2011. Generated $6,752,824 in contributed revenues and support in the first 11 months of employment. Secured $19,300,000 in state grant capital improvement funding over the past five years. Increased overall museum membership 106 percent in the past two years. Individual membership is at an all-time high of over 22,000, placing the Anchorage Museum in the top quartile per capita of all museums in the U.S. (Anchorage population: 292,000). Increased museum visitation by 177 percent over the previous year to a near record 212,514. Evolved museum programming schedule to include popular exhibitions such as: Gold; Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination; Andy Warhol: Manufactured; Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age; and, Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire and Shadows to increase museum profile, visitorship and membership. 1998 to 2007 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION National Museum of the American Indian Washington, DC 2005 to 2007 Associate Director for Community and Constituent Services Promoted to Associate Director (Smithsonian senior executive) to comanage programming and administration of National Museum, including staff, programs and activities at the George Gustav Heye Center in New York City; Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland; and, the Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Responsible for all outreach programs for Native constituents throughout the Western Hemisphere, including international relations, museum alliances, traveling exhibitions, NMAI National Powwow, museum training and internship programs, Native arts programs, multimedia content development for web-
Page 3. based programs and services, culturally sensitive collections management and repatriation activities. Appointed by museum director to serve as one of four associate directors to co-manage museum s annual $33 million federal appropriation, $10 million in trust funds, 330 employees, one million museum collection objects, and three museum facilities in two states and the District of Columbia. Direct report to museum director and museum board of trustees, official representative of museum to national and international organizations, institutions and government agencies. Responsible for developing and facilitating museum programs, exhibitions, publications, educational materials and activities, outreach programs, and electronic and web-based initiatives. Managed public resource centers at Mall Museum and George Gustav Heye Center in New York City, with combined annual attendance of over 175,000 visitors. Developed multimedia unit to produce pod/vod-casting content for itunes and Smithsonian website. 2002 to 2005 Assistant Director for Community Services Promoted to manage outreach programming for all Native American Constituents throughout the hemisphere involving programs such as, Native arts, Native radio content development, museum studies internships, museum training and technical assistance for tribal museums, repatriation, and special projects and events. Challenged with directing staff of seven comprised of program coordinators and program managers while managing $500,000 annual departmental budget. Increased program participation by developing and distributing museum s first comprehensive program guide outlining all available programs in one brochure. Led direct mail distribution campaign, as well as website integration initiative. Established and directed steering committee facilitating public opening of museum in 2004. Assisted with developing and facilitating activities and events, coordinated and oversaw Native Nations Procession comprised of 30,000-plus people, and orchestrated logistics for event with 600,000 attendees. Coordinated National Powwow in August 2005 with attendance of 35,000-plus participants at MCI Center located in Washington, DC as steering committee member. Coordinated Cardinal Direction Markers project for the National Mall museum.
Page 4. 1998 to 2002 Repatriation Program Manager/Repatriation Specialist Hired to museum to conduct repatriation research, coordinate and facilitate repatriation activities, review collections of Native Tribes, lead consultations with Native Tribes, manage $100,000-plus budget and staff of four repatriation program specialists and one repatriation research specialist, and assist with accurately handling culturally sensitive collections. Repatriated hundreds of items to nearly 50 tribes, including seven sets of remains to Cuba. Secured burial sites for re-internment of human remains. Negotiated difficult intertribal repatriation agreements while serving as arbiter between tribes relative to disposition of human remains. 1995 to 1998 KANZA MUSEUM OF THE KAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA Kaw City, Oklahoma Museum Director Joined museum to manage operations of entire facility while addressing issues relative to tribe s collections, staffing, fundraising, curatorial project planning, exhibit development, annual budget creation and analysis, and more. Served as museum liaison to tribal executive council and functioned as tribe s historical preservation officer tasked with managing sacred and historic lands. Responsible for the stewardship of the cultural treasures and historical records of the Kaw Nation of Oklahoma. Increased donations of cultural patrimony from tribal members and local community residents by strengthening relationships. Developed cultural database for tribe by documenting associated family heirlooms. Led material preservation training and created public access to inventoried items. 1992 to 1995 INTERSTATE FIREHOUSE CULTURAL CENTER Portland, Oregon Visual Arts Manager Tasked with creating two exhibits per month, reviewing and selecting artists works prior to gallery exhibitions and physically installing exhibits
Page 5. for attendee viewing. Additionally, managed gallery budget and coordinated both volunteer and docent staff. Facilitated art exhibitions outside of regular venue, including major exhibition at Nike headquarters. Assisted with recruiting well-known artists to small, local gallery such as Judy Chicago. 1992 to 1995 PORTLAND ART MUSEUM Portland, Oregon Interim Curator, Native American Art Recruited to coordinate exhibitions using Portland Art Museum collections. Conceptualized, developed, and executed exhibits using Rasmuson and Elizabeth Cole Butler collections. Attained recognition for creating the most visited exhibits in gallery history by developing The Land of the Raven, Crowns of Glory, Children of the First Americans, and many others. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Board member, University of Oregon Alumni Association, Eugene, Oregon, 2012 to present Board member, World Affairs Council (Alaska), Anchorage, Alaska, 2012 to present Board member, Western Museums Association, Western States, 2011 to present Member, Anchorage Downtown Rotary; Anchorage, Alaska, 2009 to present Board member, Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau; Anchorage, Alaska, 2009 to present Board member, Anchorage Cultural Council; Anchorage, Alaska, 2009 to 2011 Member, Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation (HANF) Advisory Committee; Anchorage, Alaska, 2008 to present Member, Association of Science-Technology Centers, Washington, DC, 2008 to present Board member, Anchorage Museum Association, Anchorage, Alaska, 2007 to present Board member, Anchorage Museum Foundation; Anchorage, Alaska, 2007 to present Member, Anchorage Museum Building Committee (Expansion Project), Anchorage, Alaska, 2007 to present Board chair, Kanza Ilóshka Society, Kaw Nation of Oklahoma, 2004 to present Member, International Skål Society, Anchorage, Alaska, 2001 to present Member, American Alliance of Museums, Washington, DC, 1998 to present
Page 6. HONORS AND AWARDS 2011 Gold Pan Award for Business Excellence, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Accreditation Award (2010), American Association of Museums Golden Heart Award, Best Volunteer Program, Alaska Association of Volunteer Administrators Community Organization of the Year Award, Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau Nominee, George M. Sullivan CEO of the Year Award, Anchorage Downtown Partnership Winner, Publication Design Award (re-branding campaign), American Association of Museums PUBLICATIONS Foreword, in Julie Decker, ed., True North: Contemporary Art of the Circumpolar North, Anchorage: Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, 2012: 5 Foreword, in Julie Decker, ed., Expanded View: The New Wing of the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2010: 6-9 Foreword, in Aaron Crowell, ed., Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoples of Alaska, Washington: Smithsonian Books, 2010: 11 Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park, KS, in Frances H. Kennedy, ed., American Indian Places: A Historical Guidebook, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008: 160-61 Cardinal Direction Markers: Bringing the Four Directions to NMAI, with Kristine Brumley, in Duane Blue Spruce and Tanya Thrasher, eds., The Land Has Memory: Indigenous Knowledge, Native Landscapes, and the National Museum of the American Indian, Chapel Hill: Smithsonian Institution and University of North Carolina Press, 2008: 33-47 Challenges in Managing Culturally Sensitive Collections at the National Museum of the American Indian, in Lawrence E. Sullivan and Alison Edwards, eds., Stewards of the Sacred, Washington: American Association of Museums and Harvard University, 2004: 105-12 Coming Home in Gerald McMaster and Clifford E Trafzer, eds., Native Universe, Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 2004: 246