Eight Museum Ambassadors and Communications Director Joined Staff in October, Building Toward Museum Opening in Early 2025
Chicago, Illinois (November 18, 2024)—The National Public Housing Museum, the first museum in the United States dedicated to telling the stories and sharing the history of public housing in the country, today announced its newest team members: eight professional Museum Ambassadors who are current public housing residents.
New hires Tameka Williams, Kira Bowman, Leonetta Dunn, Loretta Gholar, Gil Jones, Gentry Quinones, Donya Robinson, and Trevia Virgin are all graduates of a Cultural Workforce Development Training Program offered by the Museum in partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority’s Workforce Opportunity Center. The Ambassadors will play a crucial role in making the National Public Housing Museum a welcoming space for all when the Museum opens to the public in early 2025.
“We welcome these new members of the National Public Housing Museum team to further advance the museum’s mission to engage the public with powerful narratives of public housing residents, connect past and present struggles for housing justice, and cultivate dialogue on equity, community, and identity,” said Lisa Yun Lee, Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum.
The Museum Ambassador Program, led by Dorian H. Nash, Director of Learning and Cultural Workforce Development, reflects the museum’s commitment to diversifying the museum workers field and amplifying the voices of public housing residents. This program is designed to bridge the gap between the museum’s collections, exhibits, and diverse audiences by equipping ambassadors with the skills to foster an engaging, welcoming environment for all visitors. The eight graduates of the Museum Ambassador Program bring their firsthand experiences of living in public housing to their roles, helping to educate, inspire, and activate patrons around equitable public housing policies and the fight to end displacement.
Museum Ambassadors celebrate the completion of training program. Photo courtesy of the National Public Housing Museum.
The eight graduates of the Museum Ambassadors Program, who joined the staff in October 2024, include Tameka Williams, Leonetta Dunn, and Loretta Gholar as Visitor Experience Ambassadors (VEAs), will serve as the welcoming faces of the National Public Housing Museum, guiding guests through exhibits, supporting membership and ticket sales, and handling visitor inquiries to ensure a seamless museum experience. Kira Bowman, Gil Jones, Gentry Quinones, Donya Robinson, and Trevia Virgin will serve as Museum Educator Ambassadors (MEAs), responsible for creating inclusive and interactive learning experiences during tours and exhibits while ensuring that the museum’s artwork and displays are protected and accessible to all.
The new Museum Ambassadors worked their first event on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at the first HOOPcycleand OOPS public play session in the parking lot of the National Public Housing Museum, 919 South Ada Street. These installations include a mobile basketball hoop that pays tribute to the ancient Mayan ball game which is credited for inspiring the modern sport, and a ground mural designed to foster community connection through play. Both exhibits highlight the museum’s mission to connect the past to the present while inviting visitors to engage with their environment in meaningful ways.
The Museum also recently welcomed C.J. Lind as Communications Director. With more than 15 years of experience in museum communications, Lind is known for his expertise in promoting exhibitions, developing impactful audience engagement strategies, and raising institutional visibility through storytelling and media outreach. His role will focus on developing mission-centered stories that resonate with diverse audiences, elevating the museum’s impact both locally and nationally.
“I was drawn to the National Public Housing Museum’s unique mission, and in particular the multi-vocal way in which it blends together civic and personal histories, preservation work, art, culture, and this universal experience of home to connect with critical issues in Chicago and beyond,” Lind shared.
The National Public Housing Museum continues to grow its team in preparation for opening in early 2025. In addition to these recent hires, it is currently seeking a Director of Finance and Operations, and a Building Manager.
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Images Available at National Public Housing Museum Media Center
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PUBLIC HOUSING MUSEUM
Over the past century, more than 10 million people across the United States have called public housing home. In the late 1990s, as thousands of public housing units across the country were being demolished, public housing residents began to dream about creating a museum to preserve their collective voices, memories, and the histories of public housing across the nation. They wanted their children and grandchildren, and the public at large, to know more about their place in the American experience and to understand the public policies that helped to shape their families. In 2007, civic leaders, preservationists, historians, cultural experts, and many others joined with residents to help incorporate the National Public Housing Museum, which has since then offered transformative programs that connect the past with contemporary issues of social justice and human rights. The Museum’s permanent home is under construction at the historic Jane Addams Homes at 919 South Ada Street in Chicago’s Near West Side, and is set to open to the public in January 2025. For more information: https://www.nphm.org/
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