Courtesy Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. Photo Debora Cartwright
Starting on June 3, Elizabeth C. Babcock will join the helm of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum as its founding director.
Babcock comes to the Smithsonian with more than 20 years of experience in museum leadership. She is currently the first president and CEO of San Diego’s Forever Balboa Park, a new nonprofit stewarding the 1,200 acre park. She has a background as a cultural anthropologist and educator in the nonprofit and corporate sectors.
Babock is technically the second person to hold the title of founding director for the American Women’s History Museum. In March 2023, the Smithsonian announced Nancy Yao as the founding director, with her tenure to start that June. But, an investigation by the Washington Post in April 2023, alleging that Yao had mishandled sexual harassment allegations and fostering a toxic work environment while director at the Museum of Chinese in America in New York, delayed her appointment. In July 2023, the Smithsonian announced that Yao had stepped down.
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The forthcoming Smithsonian institution, which was recently established by an act of Congress in December 2020, is dedicated to showcasing women’s contributions and accomplishments throughout American history. Here, Babcock will be responsible for the museum’s overall vision, curation of exhibitions, acquisitions intended to build a founding collection, and the expansion of digital education resources.
“Having served as a founding director, I know how this position requires clear vision, leadership and endless enthusiasm to bring history to life,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian, in a statement. “Dr. Babcock has all three and so much more. She will use her museum and management expertise to unlock American women’s stories for our nation in ways that we can learn from the past to be inspired for the future. I am excited for both Dr. Babcock and the Smithsonian.”
Prior to her tenure at Forever Balboa Park, Babcock was the chief public engagement officer and dean of education at the California Academy of Sciences for 12 years. There, she managed the Steinhart Aquarium and the Morrison Planetarium & Science Visualization Studio, as well as organized a number of public programs that reached over 20 million globally, secured multimillion-dollar grants, and established regional and national partnerships.
Additionally, from 2002 to 2010, Babcock, who holds master’s and doctoral degrees in anthropology from Indiana University, was the vice president of education and library collections at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
“I’ve been especially fortunate to dedicate my career to inspiring people of all ages and backgrounds to explore and learn more about our world,” Babcock said in a statement. “Cultural institutions play a critical role in discovering and sharing powerful stories about the human experience that can change our lives. I am thrilled to lead a museum that tells the spectacular stories of our nation’s women. I look forward to engaging with communities across our great country to identify and celebrate the diverse contributions women and girls have made and continue to make in the fabric of American society. It’s going to be an incredible journey.”
The American Women’s History Museum has a 25-member advisory council and is considering two sites on which to construct the institution, which is currently awaiting congressional approval. More than $65.5 million dollars has been raised for its creation. The institution’s current interim director Melanie Adams, director of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, will return to her previous position.
