Thursday, October 2, 2025
Opening General Session & Keynote
Join us as we welcome attendees to Reno, present the 2025 Awards – the Charles Redd Center Award for Exhibition Excellence, the WMA Leadership Award, and the WMA Impact Award–and get inspired by the 2025 keynote speaker!
Opening Remarks
Jason B. Jones, Executive Director, Western Museums Association
Local Welcome
TBD
WMA President's Address
Noelle Kahanu, Acting Director, Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program, University of Hawaii, Manoa.
Elevating the Voices of Our People: The Journey of the Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center
Learning Format: Conversation
The Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center (SYCMCC) is a museum by Chumash people for Chumash people on Chumash land. This session will share the dynamic journey of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in building a museum for gathering, learning, and sharing. This session will explore the importance of thriving Indigenous Nations to honor their communities, ancestors, and ancestral homelands in developing places to share their stories.
On Governance: Elevating Museums Through Cooperative Models
Learning Format: Conversation
Museums in the Second Trump Administration
Learning Format: Conversation
How are you and your museum navigating the new political and cultural landscape? From funding cuts to layoffs to federal DEIA policies rollbacks, our field is experiencing a period of rapid, unpredictable, and alarming change. Join colleagues from a range of museums to build community and strategize.
Let's Talk About the Needs/Experiences of AANHPI Museum Folks
Learning Format: Conversation
This highly interactive session builds upon a national effort to start up an Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Museums and Museum Professionals Association. Through live-polling, large-group discussions, and small-group breakouts, participants will have the opportunity to share their current experiences and needs. Participants will also help contribute ideas, hopes, and recommendations to help inform the development of the association. This session is open to all WMA conference attendees.
Exhibit Redesign: Strategies for Success
Learning Format: Passive Learning
Beyond the Budget: Unlocking Hidden Funds for Collections
Learning Format: Active Learning
Museum Experiences for Climate Engagement
Learning Format: Active Learning
Turn up the NOISE: Elevate Your Museum's Strategic Plan
Learning Format: Active Learning
Ready to elevate your museum’s impact? Ditch the old SWOT and turn up the NOISE—Needs, Opportunities, Improvements, Strengths, and Exceptions! This interactive session puts strategy into action with a live NOISE analysis of the WMA conference. Get hands-on experience with this dynamic tool and walk away with a fresh, engaging approach to stakeholder-driven strategic planning that helps your museum rise above the noise and focus on what truly matters!
Aloha Nō - despair, healing and love in the time of HT25, the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025
Learning Format: Active Learning