Secretary’s Virtual All-Staff Meeting
August 18, 2020
Secretary Bunch hosted a virtual All-Staff meeting August 18 to update staff on plans to reopen the Smithsonian and how we are working to mitigate risk from the COVID-19 pandemic for our staff, our visitors and our community.
“The last few months have been tumultuous: amidst a global pandemic, we have been forced to close our museums to the public—not for a day or two, but for months—for the first time in our history,” Secretary Bunch said. “We have adapted to unprecedented technological challenges and adopted near-universal telework; we have pivoted from physical exhibitions to digital access and resources as we continue to fulfill our mission. This is all while essential staff continue to safeguard and care for our facilities and living collection on site.
“As we all work to keep each other and our communities safe, healthy, and secure,” he continued. “It’s a good time to come together and take a look at what we have done in response to the pandemic and learn how we are planning for the future.”
The Secretary was joined during the meeting by:
- Doug Hall, Response Team Coordinating Officer and Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Administration
- Anne McDonough, MD MPH, Response Team Public Health Lead and Associate Director, Office of Occupational Health
- Rich Wright, Response Team Deputy Coordinating Officer, Chair of the Reopening Task Force, and Director of the Office of Safety, Health and Environmental Management
More than 4,000 staff watched the livestream and many submitted questions to the panel. Those questions not addressed during the meeting itself will be compiled and addressed in the coming days. If you have questions about the discussion or anything not covered, please contact the resource account: corona-info@si.edu.
Watch the recorded meeting:
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Posted: 21 August 2020
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