Friday, January 19, 2024, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
A Conversation on the Commons featuring Kayla Coleman (NEMA) and Susan Robertson (Gore Place)
Despite the fact that we are all planning to live forever, sooner or later our organizations must grapple with the issue of transition and succession. The replacement of an Executive Director or Board President is always accompanied by some degree of angst and institutional change. Executive successions, especially, are a chance to start fresh – they require the organization to take a hard look at its current state, at its aspirations for future programming, and at changes in its mission and focus. Join us for this Conversation on January 19 with Kayla Coleman, recently appointed Executive Director of NEMA, and Susan Robertson, recently retired Executive Director of Gore Place, two panelists on opposite ends of the succession planning process!
We will do our best to monitor your questions and comments during the conversation. A recording will be publicly available in the Conversations on the Commons Archive, and a livestream available on our YouTube channel.
Questions? Email commons@masshistoryalliance.org
About our panelists:
Susan Robertson was Executive Director of Gore Place for 37 years. She was the organization’s longest-serving Director since Gore Place Society was founded in 1935. She focused on strategic planning, capital infrastructure, interpretive programs and accessibility. Ms. Robertson was President of the Board of the New England Museum and received their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. She served the museum field by leading countless professional development initiatives for NEMA and as a peer reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums accreditation commission. She also served on the Board of the Waltham Chamber of Commerce and received the Chairman’s Award in 2001 and 2003. Upon her retirement from Gore Place, Ms. Robertson was named Executive Director Emerita.
Kayla G. Coleman is an art historian, curator, educator, writer, and public art advocate whose work is rooted in topics that include access, post-colonialism, gentrification, and the intersections of marginalizations. Since beginning her career, Kayla has held positions at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Studio Museum in Harlem, and New York Historical Society. Passionate about Human and Civil Rights, Kayla has worked in community organizing around racism, prison reform, housing rights, immigration, abortion rights, and voting rights. Since September 2023, Kayla has been the Executive Director of the New England Museum Association, where she applies her knowledge and experience to continue cultivating a more equitable and informed museum world.
Conversations on the Commons
Where people from Massachusetts history organizations get to vent, empathize, laugh, complain, think, collaborate, brainstorm, plan, and in general be up to no good.