Starting a new year is often a time filled with goal-setting and resolutions. For me, that has often meant reflecting on the past year and looking toward the future with ambitious plans (“this is the year I’m finally going to [fill in the blank]”).

And since 2020 was such a tumultuous and challenging year for so many of us, it makes sense for us to be excited about moving forward and setting plans for the year ahead. …

As both an educator and an illustrator, I am constantly exploring creative ways to use design to support the learning process. One go-to design feature for me has always been the visual organizer. You’ll find these popping up in almost everything I design that has a distinct learning goal, from nature-themed booklets to field trip guides and maps. In fact, I’ve been creating and using visual organizers for many years as a museum educator, too.

So what is a visual organizer?

More commonly referred to as a graphic organizer, a visual organizer is essentially a way to visually represent and organize information. Many of the visual…

There is no doubt that the past six months has been a jarring roller coaster of emotions, with everything from the pandemic and having kids in online school at home to the constant barrage of racial injustices and the highly divisive political season leading up to another election. The long list of daily stresses and anxieties keep piling up. Yet amidst everything going on right now, it’s important to take the time to slow down and find some easy ways to take care of ourselves.

For myself and my family, getting out into nature has always been our go-to strategy…

If the current pandemic crisis is indeed a unique and unprecedented opportunity for organizations to re-imagine themselves and how they work, then I cannot think of a better time to seriously consider adopting a collaborative and shared approach to leadership. Not only do collaborative forms of leadership align more strongly with organizational cultures working to advance equity and anti-racism, but it is also increasingly difficult for any single individual to possess all of the skills and abilities needed to lead a complex organization into a future of post-pandemic uncertainties.

In his post entitled “Museum Leadership for the Rest of Us,”…

Embracing a more human approach to leadership asks us to elevate care, relationship building, and collective well-being as integral elements to our organization’s values and culture. It is about putting all human beings (not just customers or clients) at the center of our organizational thinking. For those in leadership positions, this means setting aside ego, stepping back, learning to listen in radical ways, and making decisions based in care and deeply-held human values — and doing this all while it might run counter to conventional thinking and entrenched legacies of leadership (in our organizations, and even in our minds).

In…

Since the beginning of this pandemic crisis and throughout the ongoing protests demanding racial justice, we have seen evidence of a wide range of leadership qualities on the public stage — watching national political leaders on TV and through social media, seeing governors and mayors respond to these crises in their own states and cities, and feeling the effects of how those leading our organizations and nonprofits have decided to respond. The behaviors of those in traditionally-defined leadership positions have varied from being fairly brave, vulnerable, and serving the greater good, to acting in ways that are extremely harmful, self-serving…

Written by Mike Murawski

As protesters have gathered in the streets of more than 2,000 cities and towns across the United States to stand against police brutality, white supremacy, systemic racism, and the violent oppression of Black communities, museums across the country have decided to post images of artworks by Black artists (without statements), share their own vague and often hollow statements of ‘solidarity,’ and post the #BlackoutTuesday black squares on their social media accounts without considering the impact. …

Many people have written about & reflected on the importance of tapping into our own creativity during these unprecedented times. Over the past month, I’m particularly proud to have been able to dedicate more time to my creative side — a side of myself that I’ve sometimes hidden behind my more “professional” full-time work in museum institutions. Without those barriers (actual and mental) in place any longer due to my recent layoff, I’m bringing my passions and creative work to the forefront.

Since 2016, I’ve been part of the incredible, entrepreneurial adventure of launching a new business with my partner…