McCrary new executive director at museum
She takes over for Jim Kern, wants to tell community’s story
It wasn’t quite as shocking as Dave Kujan’s moment in the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” but for years Melinda McCrary had a revealing experience concerning a coffee cup.
While working for eight years as the executive director for the Richmond Museum of History and Culture, McCrary would look at her cup that was from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.
“I worked an exhibit there with Jim Kern in 2014 that was about quilts on the homefront and stories of WWII,” McCrary said. “I really admired Jim’s work and and I admired the museum, especially the professionalism and organization. I always thought it would be great to work there, so when I saw that Jim was retiring, I immediately put in my application.”
The application was the winning ticket as McCrary has been chosen to be the new executive director of the Vallejo museum.
“I feel like I’m still walking on air, because it was a national search and I feel honored to be the one picked,” McCrary said. “Everyone in Vallejo has been very welcoming and made me feel very comfortable.”
Not only did McCrary work at the Richmond museum for eight years, she also is an anthropology teacher at Contra Costa Community College. She has two master degrees — one in anthropology and the other in museum studies. She grew up in the South Side of Chicago with a military family.
McCrary worked with Kern for two weeks before she eventually took over for him earlier this month. In the time they worked together McCrary tried to absorb all of Kern’s knowledge, but especially one piece of advice:
“Jim told me, ‘God gave us two ears and one mouth and it’s because we should listen twice as much as we talk,” McCrary said. “I thought that was so great that I wrote it down right there on the spot so I’d remember it.”
Kern, who retired after 33 years with the museum, had high praise for McCrary.
“I’ve known Melinda professionally for a number of years and always admired the work she was doing at the Richmond museum,” Kern said. “So I was happy to see her resume among the applicants. She has an excellent track record of doing exhibits and programs that are very welcoming and inclusive of the entire community.And she comes from a Navy family.”
McCrary was quick to point out that museum workers Mary Kuykendall and Trevor Allen have made the transition much easier and said that both are great at what they do. She also cited the strong core of volunteers that the museum has on staff.
Although McCrary has been taught a lot, she does have her own big plans for the museum. She has plans to renovate the south gallery, which was originally installed in 1980. She also wants to explore more areas and get educational programs more involved.
“I want to explore everything, every single ethnic group,” McCrary said. “I am really interested in Native American studies and the Chinese experience. I also love fundraising. I want to raise a million dollars for this museum. I want to get more kindergarten to 12th grade programs going. I’m also interested in the Black Panthers, having worked in Richmond for so long.”
McCrary also wants the experience to be easy for everyone to experience.
“I want to enhance the experience for everyone and make it accessible for everyone,” the new executive director said. “I want to make it easier for people with low vision or don’t hear quite as well. People that speak another language like Spanish, I want to make the museum more accessible for them as well.”
McCrary said the most important thing about her new job and one she stressed greatly, is that she wants to make it a museum for the people.
“I want to tell their stories,” she said. “I’m always looking for more stories and I really want to hear from the community. What stories are we not telling? What stories do they want to hear? Museums are for everyone and we need to do a better job of reaching out. What does the community expect from me? I want to know.”
After all, McCrary wants to be in town for a while — not just a cup of coffee.
The Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum is located at 734 Marin St in Vallejo.