Thank you to all of our members who voted! And welcome to our new and returning board members!

SARA HAY

Sara Hay became an active member of Museums Alaska upon moving to the state in January 2020. Sara holds an MA in Museum Studies from San Francisco State and has worked for a wide range of museums and archives, from house museums to the National Park Service, for over 15 years. Her focus is on collections and mainly registration. During Sara’s time with the NPS, she completed inventories, reviewed ownership documents and accession files, created various plans and standardization procedures, and completed collection management tasks for both natural and cultural resource collections. Currently in the Museums Alaska organization, Sara has volunteered to be on a grant review committee and to serve on the conference committee. Sara hopes that her wide range of museum experience would be a benefit to the Museums Alaska board and that her current non-affiliation with an Alaska museum would bring an impartial voice to the group while providing her with the opportunity to serve Alaskan museums. 

Sara Hay will begin her three-year term on November 1. 

CINDI LAGOUDAKIS

Cindi Lagoudakis' focus on arts and culture, tourism and economic development, and philanthropy have led to travels throughout Alaska for work and pleasure. She has served as board member and presenter for the Petersburg Arts Council, founding member and first Chair of the Petersburg Community Foundation, past board member and then Director of the Clausen Memorial Museum, was a member of the Alaska Folk Festival board, and as a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Alaska, helping foster connections to our communities, their inhabitants and their stories. Cindi shares her love of the arts across miles, with young and old alike. As a mixed media artist with a special interest in printmaking, she has curated and participated in group and solo exhibitions from Ketchikan to Fairbanks, most recently serving an instructor for Artfest 2023 in Yakutat. Her artwork and photography appears in various Alaskan publications, collections, websites and installations.

Cindi Lagoudakis will complete Kelly Gwynn's last year. She will begin her one-year term on November 1. 

We also have two returning board members. This year, both Christine and Ashley completed the final years of former board members who left one year early. They have both have been elected for their first three-year terms.  

CHRISTINE CARPENTER

Christine Carpenter is passionate about museums and has been honored to serve on the Museums Alaska board for the past year. As a designer, artist, and project manager, Christine uses her skills to work collaboratively with museums to find opportunities and limit challenges. After completing her MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning & Design, she relocated to Juneau to work with ExhibitAK, an exhibit design firm. She also maintains her own company, Liaise Studio: a design and art practice. Christine uses design and art as a tool to communicate and distill the world around us. In collaboration with the communities she serves, she has designed exhibits, websites, interpretive panels, and master plans all over the state. After more than 10 years of working with museums across Alaska, Christine is in a unique position to serve on the Museums Alaska board: she understands the broad needs and opportunities of Alaskan museums. She would be honored to continue to support museums in this capacity.

Christine Carpenter will begin her three-year term on November 1. 

ASHLEY BIVIN

Ashley Bivin is the Museum Director with the Cordova Historical Museum. As a young museum professional herself, she is passionate about helping other emerging museum professionals (EMPS) in Alaska excel in this field. Since September of 2021, she has been working with Museums Alaska to host monthly Alaska EMP Meet and Skill Shares. She has a variety of experience in museum and archive collection management working with organizations such as the American Bald Eagle Foundation, Sinclair Research Center, Saint Louis Science Center, and the Madison County History Museum & Archive. She also spent 2 years working in museum education with the Bettendorf Family Museum and the Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House. Ashley has a B.S. in Anthropology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a M.A. in Museum Studies from Western Illinois University- Quad Cities. She spends her free time exploring Cordova and relaxing with her 2 cats.

Ashley Bivin will begin her three-year term on November 1. 

We look forward to working with our new board members!

We also wanted to take a moment to thank our departing board members. Selena Ortega-Chiolero has been with us for the past six years—serving on a variety of committees, as well as serving as our Secretary and later President. And Kelly has been a wonderful board member over the past two years serving on our CMF panel and on several committees. We will miss both of them!