Smithsonian’s planned Museum of American Women names director
There are still many unanswered questions about the Smithsonian’s proposed American Women’s History Museum despite the new institution’s receiving congressional approval more than two years ago. Nobody knows how much construction will cost, what objects will be displayed in the galleries or precisely where the building will stand on the National Mall in Washington.
But the museum is one step closer to determining its future: On Monday, the Smithsonian Institution announced that Nancy Yao, who currently leads the Museum of Chinese in America, will become the cultural center’s founding director.
“Never did I think that I would have this opportunity,” Yao said. “You work hard and hope that one day someone will notice.”
Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, said in a statement that “Nancy’s proven experience, skill and leadership will be crucial in bringing to life the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and enabling it to creatively tell a more robust and complete story about who we are as a nation.”
Before entering the museum world, Yao worked for the Council on Foreign Relations and Goldman Sachs. She has also frequently lectured on the governance of nonprofit organizations at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. For the past eight years, Yao has served as president of the Museum of Chinese in America, an organization based in Manhattan that has faced tragedies and controversies during her tenure. Early in 2020, a fire destroyed the building where a majority of its collection was stored, though Yao later estimated that almost 98 percent of the 85,000 objects were salvaged.