NMAAHC: National Museum of African American History and Culture

As a public historian and a scholar who brings history to the people, Lonnie Bunch has spent nearly 30 years in the museum field where he is regarded as one of the nation’s leading figures in the cultural-historical community.

Prior to his July 2005 appointment as director of the Museum, Bunch served as the president of the Chicago Historical Society, one of the nation’s oldest museums of history. He has also held several positions at the Smithsonian, most recently as Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of American History.

A prolific and widely published author, Bunch has written on topics ranging from the black military experience, the American presidency, all black towns in the American West to diversity in museum management and the impact of funding and politics on American museums. Lectures and presentations to museum professionals and scholars have taken him to major cities in the United States and abroad.

In service to the historical and cultural community, Bunch has served on the advisory boards of the American Association of Museums and the American Association of State and Local History. Among his many awards, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Commission for the Preservation of the White House in 2002. In 2006, Bunch was named one of the 100 most influential museum professionals in the 20th century by the American Association of Museums.

Born in the Newark, N.J. area, Bunch received undergraduate and graduate degrees from American University in African American and American history.

Prior to joining NMAAHC she was an arts, museum, and management consultant where her projects included acting as senior policy advisor for the Museums and Community Initiative of the American Association of Museums, project director for the New York City Creative Communities program of LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity), project director and managing editor for Culture Counts: Strategies for a More Vibrant Cultural Life for New York City (New York Foundation for the Arts), and project manager for Creative Downtown: The Role of Culture in Rebuilding Lower Manhattan (New York City Arts Coalition).

She was director of The Studio Museum in Harlem from 1988 to 1999 where she conceptualized, organized, or co-organized more than 40 major exhibitions, many of which traveled nationally. She also served as assistant exhibit coordinator for the Museum of the American Indian in New York City and Coordinator of Activities for the Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House.

Conwill writes on art, museums, and cultural policy and is a frequent lecturer and panelist at colleges, universities, conferences, and museums. She has served as an advisor for the Harvard University Program for Art Museum Directors and on the faculties of the Virginia Management Institute for Senior Museum Professionals and the Salzburg Seminars. Additionally, she has been a presenter in major international art conferences and meetings and a juror for numerous public art projects and exhibitions.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she attended Mount Holyoke College as a National Achievement Scholar, graduated magna cum laude from Howard University with a B.F.A., and received an M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.