About LaNesha
“To thine own self be true.” This is the motto that guides LaNesha’s life. She has learned through the ups and downs of life to be true to herself, embracing her strengths to build success. She is dedicated to transforming, strengthening, and unifying society through museums, libraries, and educational equity.
For a print-ready one-page bio of LaNesha, click HERE.
Museum Executive …
For over twenty years, LaNesha has helped lead the growth of Black museums. Most recently, she served as the award-winning President & CEO of the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle where she led innovative, transformational growth. While President & CEO from 2017 to 2023, she established the museum’s annual Malcolm X Day, Juneteenth Week, Freedom Weekend, NAAM-Smithsonian partnership, and revitalized its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. She founded the African American Cultural Ensemble (ACE), the nation’s first permanent, ongoing museum choir. LaNesha also founded the Elders Circle, the James Baldwin Circle, the Descendants Series, and Knowledge is Power, a cultural literacy program that freely distributed 25,000 new, beautifully illustrated African American children’s books to children. She did all of this while leading the museum through the pandemic into a new strategic plan with a relevant new mission statement and elevating its fundraising to record-setting levels.
Public Historian …
LaNesha is a skilled public historian. She was Senior Vice President of Education & Exhibitions at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit where she led its largest department. LaNesha is Immediate Past National President of the Board of Directors of the Association of African American Museums (AAAM), only the sixth woman in history to serve in this position. She is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Additionally, she previously served two terms on the National Executive Council of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) - an organization founded in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. LaNesha’s public history career began at the National Museum of Kenya in Africa in 2001, and she has studied museums and libraries internationally in Ghana, South Africa, England, Germany, and Israel.
LaNesha has been a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for over twenty years. She is also an active member of The Links, Incorporated and The Pierians, Incorporated. Civically, she is a member of the International Women’s Forum and has served on the Board of Directors of Cascade PBS, Visit Seattle, the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce, and the New Hope Community Development Institute (NHCDI). She is one of eight museum leaders selected to serve on the National 2023-2025 American Alliance of Museums Excellence in DEAI Steering Committee.
Educator …
Prior to her award-winning national career in public history, LaNesha was in K-12 history and language arts education. She earned a BA in history and secondary education from Kalamazoo College; an MA in history and museum studies from the University of Missouri in St. Louis; an MLS in archives management from Indiana University-Bloomington; and an MA in Comparative Black History from Michigan State University. At the University of Washington, she is currently a PhD candidate in the College of Education, teaching as she studies the intellectual lives of Black women who attended predominantly white colleges in the early 20th century and their later civil rights activism.
In addition to her tireless work as a public historian and educator, LaNesha is an ordained minister and serves as the Assistant Pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, one of Seattle’s progressive social justice churches. The other motto that guides her life is “She believes she can, so she does.”
As a trained librarian and archivist, books are at the center of LaNesha’s world. To see the Black history book she’s reading this week, click HERE to visit her “Read of the Week" page.
LaNesha’s leadership philosophy is centered around four key commitments: stewardship, partnership, presence, and service. These are rooted in her three professional core values of respect, resilience, and joy. Learn more in the video above. Click on video above to view.
“LaNesha, thank you so much for your incredible leadership. I am so thankful that I got to learn from you. Your incredible way with words, ability to uplift those around you, and deep commitment to equity through all you do make you a truly powerful and effective leader and you light the way for all those who follow you.”
— K. Hunter
“History is literally present in all that we do. ”