OVS Director Sherri Wheeler is leaving the Smithsonian
As Sherri Wheeler, Director of the Office of Visitor Services and Volunteer Management, prepares to leave the Smithsonian community March 11 to relocate, she sat down with Savannah Loebig to reflect on her time with us and her experiences with volunteers. Join us in wishing Sherri well in her new endeavors by leaving a comment!
How long have you been at the Smithsonian? How long have you been working with volunteers?
I started at the Smithsonian on April 2, 2003; so I’ve been here 18 years! I started working with volunteers when I became director of the Office of Visitor Services on July 12, 2015. My first experience of volunteering was my personal volunteer work for other organizations. This role was the first time I was in a position where I was overseeing volunteers.
Do you remember your first interaction with a volunteer as Director of OVS?
My first engagement with the volunteers was about three or four months after becoming director. The first thing I did was a series of focus group meetings with the volunteers, and I was nervous! The department had gone through so much transition. But after that first meeting I was totally shocked. We had incredible conversations where they gave great feedback, and I learned an important leadership skill that has stayed with me throughout my time as director: Sometimes people just want to be heard. When you listen to all the perspectives and have meaningful conversations, it is much easier to enact change, even when everyone doesn’t necessarily agree. I also learned just how passionate our volunteers are about working at the Smithsonian. They are truly committed to the service they’re providing, and the experience visitors have with them. From these conversations, I learned how I wanted to move forward in my tenure as director, and how I wanted to do things differently.
Can you tell me about a time when a volunteer or volunteer program changed your perspective?
The docent program specifically has changed my perspective over the course of my tenure as director. When I began working with the staff on docent training and strategies to enhance the program overall, I realized just how much docents must learn before they ever hit the floor and start giving tours to the public. It requires a lot of dedication, and docents bring a different perspective and experience as a result of giving tours. This also gave me my first taste of the educational part of the Smithsonian, and it made me more curious to learn about all the resources we have. Now I have a much greater appreciation, not just for docents at the Smithsonian, but also when I visit other museums.
Are there any projects with volunteers that altered your path as director?
Engaging with volunteers alone, specifically in the Castle, has altered my path. During my second year as director, I was invited to speak on MLK Day about the importance of volunteering. I would not have been prepared to do something like that if I had not already had meaningful conversations with our volunteers. And so, I felt comfortable speaking about volunteering. I even surprised myself, when I realized just how passionate I was about it. This ended up being one of the times that my engagement and enthusiasm for volunteers helped me professionally outside of overseeing the department.
In your early days as director, what was the most challenging part about working with volunteers?
Honestly, one of the most challenging things was keeping everyone’s names straight! I am really good with faces, but I am bad with names. I also try to remember who is volunteering where, since many of our volunteers serve at multiple Smithsonian locations. I’m happy to say after 7 years with 200 Castle volunteers, I have a good handle on who volunteers where, and I’d say I’ve engaged with 85% on a personal level.
Favorite volunteer moment?
It’s multiple moments, but they’re the same in that my most memorable occasions will always be the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Events that we have. They’re all different, and it’s just fun to see the volunteers being recognized for all the work they do. It’s always said that we can’t do what we do without them, but after an appreciation event I walk away really believing that they felt that sentiment from us. The events are never too formal, but instead are lively and engaging, which is why I’ve always appreciated them.
What will you miss most about working with Smithsonian volunteers?
I will miss all the stories and hearing about their experiences. I’ll miss being able to walk down to the Great Hall in the Castle and hear about their days and their personal stories. I’ll also miss seeing the camaraderie, the friendships and partnerships, and watching how they develop over the years.
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Posted: 10 March 2022
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