Jul
31

AAM taps Amy Bartow-Melia to chair Accreditation Commission

Bartow-Melia will begin her term in January 2018.

 

Bartow-Melia at podium with Smithsonian logo

Amy Bartow-Melia kicks off the 14th annual Jazz Appreciation Month at a ceremony at the American History Museum.

The Board of Directors of the American Alliance of Museums, the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, has ratified the appointment of Amy Bartow-Melia as the next chair of its Accreditation Commission. Bartow-Melia is the MacMillan Associate Director for Audience Engagement at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where she has been engaged in various education and public programming positions since 1997.

Bartow-Melia will begin her three-year term as chair of the commission in January 2018. She has been serving on the commission since 2015.

The Accreditation Commission is the body responsible for making independent decisions regarding accredited status. It meets three times per year and is made up of museum professionals that collectively bring a wide range of experience and expertise in the museum field. Commissioners serve in a volunteer capacity.

Bartow-Melia brings 22 years of museum and nonprofit management experience in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, with a special interest in assessing the impact of museums. She has assumed leadership roles in EdCom, the Alliance’s professional network of educators, as well as the National Council for History Education. She was also the founding director of two children’s non-profit organizations: The London International Gallery of Children’s Art, and Children’s International Art Outreach in Virginia.


Posted: 31 July 2017
About the Author:

Alex di Giovanni is primarily responsible for "other duties as assigned" in the Office of Communications and External Affairs. She has been with the Smithsonian since 2006 and plans to be interred in the Smithson crypt.