Description: Dr. Melissa Chiu, Director, Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 2014–present, oversees a staff of 50 and a collection of 12,000 objects. Within the first year of her tenure, Chiu doubled the number of museum board members, and, in 2017, the Hirshhorn Museum met a milestone of one million visitors. #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. E. Carmen Ramos, Deputy Chief Curator and Curator of Latino Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, is tasked with expanding the museum’s collection of Latino art with an eye toward capturing the broad aesthetic and regional range of the field. #Groundbreaker
Description: Forensic ornithologist, Roxie Collie Laybourne, created the field of forensic ornithology which has improved air safety through the use of bird data, by making modifications to flight plans and creating programs to scare away birds at some airports. #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. Robin L. Davisson, Professor of Molecular Physiology at Cornell University, won the Arthur C. Corcoran Memorial Award for excellence in cardiovascular research from the American Heart Association and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is now part of the Smithsonian family. #Groundbreaker
Description: Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey now has a Wikipedia page thanks to our volunteers. Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey now has Wikipedia page thanks to our volunteers.
Description: Shireen L. Dodson worked as Comptroller for the Smithsonian Institution (1986–1992), Associate Director for Administration and Planning at the National African-American Museum Project (1992–1995), and Associate Director for Administration at the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture (1995–2000). #Groundbreaker
Description: 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.
Description: Dr. Anthea M. Hartig, Elizabeth MacMillan Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, became the first woman to ever lead the museum in 2019. She oversees more than 250 employees, a budget of $40 million, and 1.8 million objects. #Groundbreaker
Description: 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.