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Leslie Bedford

Director, Leadership in Museum Education Program

Course Instructor

Leadership in Museum Education Program

Academic Interests

Educational leadership in cultural organizations Exhibitions as aesthetic experience Imaginative education as it applies to museum practice International practice including professional development

Recent Courses Taught

Some of the Values that Shape My Work

I was lucky enough to learn museum theory and practice at the Boston Children’s Museum during its most progressive and generative years and about effective management from the Getty Leadership Institute. I came to Bank Street because I thought everyone in this field deserved the same experience with wise mentoring, ongoing reflection on one’s leadership skills, the habit of always asking “Why am I doing this? What big ideas shape my practice?” and a deep and unwavering commitment to the public. Those are the values and habits that I try to bring to all aspects of this program, including my own teaching.

Work with Families, Children, Schools, and Communities

As a member of The Museum Group, an international consortium of senior museum people, I consult to a range of organizations on exhibition and professional development. Recent clients include the Lower Eastside Tenement Museum, Facing History and Ourselves, American Museum of Natural History, Minnesota History Center, and Boston Children’s Museum.

Selected Professional Development Work

Taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York University, and Sagamore Institute and consulted on professional development/conducted workshops for the Japanese Ministry of Culture, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage/Smithsonian Institution, Fundacion TyPA (Buenos Aires), Boston Children’s Museum, and National Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Union Institute
  • M.A.T., Harvard University
  • B.A., Vassar College
  • Museum Management Institute (Getty Leadership Institute)
  • Fulbright Scholar: Japan 1986-87; Argentina 2010

Selected Publications

  • Bedford, L (2009). Finding the story in history. In D.L. McRainey and J. Russick (Eds). Connecting Kids to History with Museum Exhibitions. (pp 97-116). Walnut Creek, California: Leftcoast Press.

  • McRainey, D.L., Bedford, L. Spock, D. Anway, A. (2007).  Imagining the possibilities. Exhibitionist: A Journal of Reflective Practice, 24(2), 40-52.

  • Bedford, L., (2005). Lost cases, recovered lives: Suitcases from a state hospital attic: The New York State museum at Albany.  Curator: The Museum Journal. 48(2), 213-220.

None

Contact me:

(212) 875-4704 lbedford@bankstreet.edu
610 W 112Th St # 651
New York, NY 10025-1898