Kelly Klobucher | Museum Executive | Cultural Tourism Strategist | Non-Profit Leader

By Kelly Klobucher

Every museum wants visitors to feel welcome.

We invest in accessible buildings, inclusive exhibitions, engaging educational programs, and thoughtful interpretation. Yet one of the most powerful ways to create belonging isn’t found in a gallery or an exhibit label—it’s found in the people who greet visitors, lead tours, facilitate school programs, and tell the stories.

People connect with people.

When museum staff reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, visitors are more likely to feel that they belong, that their stories matter, and that the museum is a place for them.

For me, this isn’t simply a leadership philosophy—hiring, and fostering a staff of educated, passionate, diverse museum people who resemble the community we serve, is one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of during my career in museum leadership.  When our community started to “see themselves” in our staff, the whole organization changed.

Representation Shapes First Impressions

A museum visit begins long before a visitor enters an exhibit.

Children notice who welcomes them at the front desk.

Parents observe who answers their questions.

Teachers watch how educators interact with their students.

Visitors pay attention to who is trusted to interpret history.

These moments communicate powerful, often subconscious messages about who belongs in museums.

If every guide, educator, manager, and interpreter looks the same, visitors may conclude—whether intentionally or not—that museums are designed primarily for one group of people.

Conversely, when visitors encounter staff from a variety of backgrounds, ages, cultures, abilities, and life experiences, museums become more approachable and more representative of the communities they serve.

Children Need to See Themselves

This lesson became especially meaningful during school field trips.

As we intentionally diversified our education and visitor experience teams, something remarkable happened.

Students could see themselves in the people leading their experiences.

A young Latina student could see an educator who shared aspects of her background leading a discussion about local history.

A Black student could watch an interpreter confidently guiding visitors through an exhibit.

A student with a disability might encounter a staff member navigating the museum in ways that reflected their own experiences.

Representation doesn’t require identical lived experiences. It simply expands children’s understanding of who can become a historian, educator, curator, preservationist, scientist, or museum leader.

When children see people who resemble them in positions of expertise and leadership, new possibilities begin to feel attainable.

Museums don’t just preserve history—they help shape future careers.

Better Teams Tell Better Stories

Diverse staffs also strengthen interpretation.

History is rarely simple.

It is layered, complex, and experienced differently by different communities.

When interpretive teams include individuals with varied cultural backgrounds, professional experiences, and perspectives, exhibitions become richer, programs become more thoughtful, and conversations become more nuanced.

Staff members challenge assumptions.

They ask different questions.

They identify blind spots before visitors do.

The result is better scholarship and better storytelling.

Building Trust Within Communities

Many museums are working to strengthen relationships with communities that have historically felt excluded from cultural institutions.

Authentic relationships require more than outreach.

They require representation.

Community members are often more willing to engage with institutions when they encounter staff who understand their experiences, speak their languages, or have longstanding relationships within their neighborhoods.

Representation demonstrates that inclusion is not simply a statement in a strategic plan—it is reflected in everyday leadership decisions.

Diversity Benefits Everyone

Creating a diverse workforce is not about checking boxes.

It is about building stronger organizations.

Research consistently shows that diverse teams improve problem-solving, creativity, innovation, and decision-making. Museums are no exception.

Different perspectives lead to:

• More engaging educational programs
• Better visitor experiences
• Stronger community partnerships
• More thoughtful exhibitions
• Increased cultural competency
• Better organizational decision-making

When staff members bring different life experiences to their work, the museum becomes more capable of serving an increasingly diverse public.

Recruitment Is Only the Beginning

Hiring diverse staff is important.

Creating an environment where those employees feel welcomed, respected, supported, and empowered to lead is equally essential.

Inclusive organizations invest in:

• Mentorship
• Professional development
• Leadership opportunities
• Fair promotion practices
• Open communication
• Psychological safety

Retention matters just as much as recruitment.

Leadership Has a Responsibility

Museum leaders influence organizational culture through every hiring decision.

They decide where jobs are posted.

They determine interview processes.

They mentor emerging professionals.

They identify future leaders.

These decisions shape not only today’s workforce but the next generation of museum professionals.

Diversifying museum staff requires intentional leadership—not because it is fashionable, but because it strengthens institutions and better serves the public.

A Personal Reflection

Looking back on my leadership career, one of the accomplishments that gives me the greatest sense of pride is helping build a staff that more closely reflected the community we served.

It wasn’t about meeting quotas or satisfying a trend.

It was about creating an environment where every child walking through our doors could imagine themselves as part of the museum’s story—not just as a visitor, but perhaps one day as an educator, curator, preservationist, or executive director.

Museums have always been places where people discover the past.

They should also be places where young people discover their future.

And sometimes, that future begins simply by seeing someone who looks like them standing at the front of the room, saying, “Welcome to the museum.”

Kelly Klobucher is a museum executive, public historian, and cultural tourism strategist with more than 20 years of leadership experience in museums, nonprofit management, marketing, and historic preservation. She writes about museum leadership, governance, visitor experience, heritage tourism, and the role museums play in strengthening communities. Kelly is also the creator of The Backyard Tourist, a publication dedicated to inspiring cultural road trips and connecting travelers with America’s historic places.