Sponsored by MATT Construction

Join us as we welcome attendees to Salt Lake City, present the 2026 Awards - the Charles Redd Center Award for Exhibition Excellence, the WMA Leadership Award, and the WMA Impact Award - and get inspired by the keynote speaker!

Opening Remarks: Jason B. Jones, Executive Director, Western Museums Association

Local Welcome: TBD

UMA Welcome: Katy Knight, President, Utah Museums Association

WMA President's Address: Noelle Kahanu, Acting Director, Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program, University of Hawai'i at Monoa

Awards Presentation: Molly Wilmoth, Cultural Access in Public Schools Coordinator, City of Olympia

Keynote Address: Lisa Sasaki, Deputy Under Secretary for Special Projects, Smithsonian Institution

Lisa Sasaki is the deputy under secretary for special projects at the Smithsonian Institution, where she provides leadership for the institution’s semiquincentennial activities and in efforts that maximize the institution’s impact online and in communities across the country. Previously, Sasaki was the interim director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. She has worked in the museum field for 30 years at such organizations as the Oakland Museum of California, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.