Officials with the Iowa Museum Association report their 2017-2018 Board of Directors of the Iowa Museum Association was elected at its October 17th Annual Meeting in Ames. Among those serving from western Iowa effective January 1st, is: Al Harris-Fernandez, Executive Director, Sioux City Art Museum, who will be serving as past President of the Association.

Two individuals have been elected from each region of Iowa to represent the museums in their region.  Serving as Western Iowa Representatives will be Bob Fitch, Executive Director, LaunchPAD Children’s Museum and Nathan Buman, Executive Director, Shelby County Historical Museum.

At large Board members are chosen to represent to the extent possible, museums of all sizes and types.  Among the At large board members is Nicky Christensen, Communications Specialist, Museum of Danish America.

Rounding out the four new board members for 2017-18 are Nicky Christensen and Eric Anderson. Nicky Christensen believes IMA provides a platform for statewide cooperation and coordination that is invaluable to the industry, and hopes to bring her experience with outreach and communications to continue to build IMA’s brand and engage its diverse audience.  IMA Director Cydni Sweet said, “Nicky’s skills will be invaluable as we hone our services to IMA members and discover new ways to engage.  Iowa’s museum community is very diverse and we look forward to Nicky’s assistance in this area.”

The Iowa Museum Association Board of Directors meets quarterly at museums throughout Iowa.  Board members take responsibility for inviting new members to join IMA, assessing membership benefits, convening an annual statewide conference, and offering professional development opportunities of interest to colleagues statewide, among other things.

More information is available at www.iowamuseums.org or by contacting Executive Director Cynthia Sweet at Director@iowamuseums.org or 319-239-2236.