Wonderful Women Wednesday: Dr. Cheryl R. Ganz

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.

Dr. Cheryl R. Ganz was the chief curator of philately at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum between 2007 and 2014. She initially joined the Museum as a curator in 2005. As chief curator, Ganz led staff in creating the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, which opened in 2013. Following her retirement in 2014, Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough appointed Ganz curator of philately emerita. 

In 2011, Ganz won the Smithsonian Secretary’s Research Award for the best research book of the year for The 1933 Chicago World’s Fair: A Century of Progress. She edited Every Stamp Tells a Story: The National Philatelic Collection (2014) about the National Philatelic Collection. 

Ganz earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois in 2005. She holds a master’s degree from Roosevelt University and a bachelor’s degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Additionally, Ganz serves on the board of directors for the American Philatelic Society and is a founding director of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors.

Portrait photograph of Ganz.

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