Wonderful Women Wednesday: Amy Kotkin

Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.

Amy Kotkin was the director of Smithsonian Journeys, the educational tour program of the Smithsonian Institution, from 1994 until her retirement in 2013. 

Kotkin first joined the Smithsonian in 1974 when she worked with the Family Folklore Project at the Festival of American Folklife. She continued to collaborate on the festival for two years, and, in 1977,  she earned a position as a lecturer with the Smithsonian Associates program. That role soon developed into an administrative position with the Regional Events Program. In 1994, Kotkin became the program manager for the Smithsonian Associates Study Tours and Seminars, now known as Smithsonian Journeys. 

Four women gather around a table on which papers are spread out. Kotkin is the second from the right

Related Resources

Produced by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. For copyright questions, please see the Terms of Use.