History & Democracy Virtual Summit

Jamie Bosket began his tenure as President & CEO of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in 2017. Since his appointment, Jamie has led a dramatic organizational transformation that has positioned Virginia’s oldest museum in the best mission and fiscal health in its nearly 200-year history. He is helping lead Virginia’s effort to commemorate America’s 250th, including VMHC’s own leading commemorative activities, which feature a major statewide investment in civics education and a new program for history organization collaboration across the Commonwealth. Previously, Jamie served in a number of leadership positions at George Washington’s Mount Vernon over a period of ten years. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the State University of New York at Geneseo and a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies from The George Washington University. 

Natalia Crujeiras is the first female and first Latina CEO and Executive Director of HistoryMiami Museum, Miami’s oldest continuously operating cultural institution and a Smithsonian Affiliate. An immigrant from Mexico and a proud American, she is recognized as a leading cultural voice in Miami-Dade County, guiding the museum’s transformation into a dynamic civic hub that reflects Miami’s global identity and fosters belonging. She is a 2025 Emerson Collective Fellow and previously served as Executive Director of Cultural Affairs at Miami Dade College, overseeing the Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, Live Arts Miami, and the Freedom Tower. Her career spans journalism, arts management, and public service, including roles at Univision, NBC/Telemundo, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media. A 2021 USA Eisenhower Fellow, Crujeiras serves on the Executive Board of Made By Us. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Miami and a B.A. from UNAM.

Rick Noguchi has served as the President and CEO of California Humanities since 2023. Previously he was the chief operating officer of the Japanese American National Museum, where he led the strategic direction of the museum and oversaw programs and external relations. He received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in creative writing from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Pepperdine University. He is the author of two collections of poetry, The Ocean Inside Kenji Takezo (University of Pittsburgh Press) and The Wave He Caught (Pearl Editions), and a children’s book Flowers from Mariko (Lee & Low Publishing). He has been an avid surfer since he was 12 years old.

Michelle Cheng is the Deputy Director for Programs at the Fairfield Museum and History Center. Michelle’s work as an educator is rooted in community engagement and informed by her time in art, history, and design institutions. In her previous roles, she has made art accessible to Seattle’s diverse audiences at the Frye Art Museum; helped to educate, inspire, and empower audiences nationwide through design as part of an award-winning education team at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; and focused on creating lasting local impact at the New Haven Museum. Michelle holds a B.A. in Art History and Comparative Literature from Binghamton University and a M.A. in Art + Design Education from Rhode Island School of Design.

Brandon Dillard is Director of Historic Interpretation and Audience Engagement at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. He helps shape interpretation by providing training and consultation for guides, exhibits, and other forms of public engagement, and he frequently works with other museums and historic sites. In addition to his work, he is a Royster Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is pursuing a PhD in American Studies. A Cherokee Nation citizen with lifelong interests in memory and identity, Brandon studies and invites others to think about how people think about the American past.

Julie Parke has over 35 years of experience in the museum and public history field. She currently serves as the Museum Administrator for the Elkhart County Historical Museum in Bristol, IN. Julie holds a BA in History from Northwestern and an MA in History and Historic Preservation from Wake Forest, and she is an SHA  graduate. Julie teaches a museum studies course under the History program at Grace College, Winona Lake, IN, where she also volunteers with the Winona History Center.

Jenna Febrizio is an empathy-focused historian. She received her PhD in History from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she wrote about the relationships between immigrants and art professionals in the 20th-century U.S. She is currently the Curator of the Heurich House Museum in Washington, DC. Her recent research focuses on the lives of craftspeople, artisans, and laborers who designed and built the historic Dupont Circle home. 

Lora Vogt is the Vice President of Education and Interpretation at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. Founded in 1926, the Museum and Memorial holds the most comprehensive collection of Great War artifacts in the world and has been ranked one of the top 25 museums in the country. A national award-winning educator and historian, under Vogt’s guidance, the Museum and Memorial has consistently broken records for public program engagement and educational participations. Along with internationally recognized exhibitions and history resources, her work has been included in the New York Times, The History Channel, Washington Post, and NPR’s All Things Considered.

Terri L. White is President & CEO of the Charlotte Museum of History, where she is guiding the Museum through one of the most ambitious and forward-looking chapters in its history. She has strengthened the organization’s financial position, expanded its community footprint, and led the Museum to multiple regional and national awards and recognitions. A dynamic leader who blends business strategy with compelling storytelling, Terri champions the role of museums as drivers of civic engagement, economic vitality, and inclusive public dialogue. A graduate of Howard University, George Mason University, and the University of Pittsburgh, she is currently pursuing a PhD in Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky, researching systems thinking and museum mergers and acquisitions.

Renee Brown received her bachelor’s in social science with an emphasis on History, Political Science, and Sociology from Chapman University in 2008.  Formerly a journalist and an educator, she now serves as the archivist for the Palm Springs Historical Society. One of her favorite parts of her job is bringing the history of Palm Springs to the community.

Dr. Val Brown is Chief Education and Strategic Partnerships Officer at Levine Museum of the New South, where she leads partnerships and public initiatives that position the museum as a space for civic learning and democratic dialogue. She collaborates with community organizations, educators, and national coalitions to design programs that move history into conversation and action. From early childhood engagement to college fellowships, her work builds pathways for participation across generations. She is committed to strengthening democracy by aligning institutional strategy with community voice.

Cathy Saunders is the director of Preserve Rhode Island’s Lippitt House Museum. Starting as curator of education in 2018, she oversaw the growth and development of the Museum’s outreach program for adult English language learners. Her extensive museum experience includes coordinating Science Museum of Minnesota summer programs, serving as Providence Children’s Museum’s director of education, and running a women’s history program for New Bedford Whaling Museum. She has a BA in human ecology from Macalester College and an MSEd in museum education leadership from Bank Street College of Education. Currently she volunteers as president of Common Cause RI’s state advisory board and as the RI representative for the AASLH Awards Committee.

As a facilitator and museum professional, Sarah believes that how we engage matters. She has spent her career training our nation's story tellers - museums, national parks, and cultural centers - to help their visitors better discuss immigration, mass incarceration, gun violence, climate change, slavery, and both reproductive and civil rights. And every once in a while, she works with penguins. Sarah’s projects help audiences grapple with perspectives outside of their own lived experience, using dialogue to connect communities across difference. Prior to launching her own firm, Dialogic Consulting, in 2020, Sarah was a Senior Director at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, worked as the Director of Education at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and was the founding curator of the Arab American National Museum. She serves on the American Jewish Museums Advisory Council and is a member of the Emeritus Council of the American Association of State and Local History.