With the theme of ELEVATE, WMA attendees will celebrate our 90th anniversary, uplifting one another to improve our individual and institutional practices, creating space for essential ideas and conversations. Through our shared identities and unique differences, WMA 2025 will be a testament to the strength and dedication of cultural professionals and their organizations in the face of adversity.
Six session tracks, exciting programs, and informal discussions will provide a fruitful environment for various perspectives to be shared and multifaceted learning opportunities for all cultural institution professionals, regardless of specialty. Participating in areas outside your area of expertise will promote integration of ideas from multiple disciplines, foster the acquisition of knowledge, and provide insight on how to apply that knowledge – all of which advances our collective understanding of the field and our work
Thursday, Oct. 2 · Friday, Oct. 3 · Saturday, Oct. 4
For more information on WMA 2025 sessions, please view our Preliminary Program.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
11:15-12:30
- Elevating Your Mindset in Collections
- Conversation
- Beyond the Refrigerator Magnet: Brand Strategies that Fulfill Promise
- Active Learning
- Reciprocal and Transactional Relationships
- Conversation
- Nevertheless, she/they/he persisted: strategies for staying the course in turbulent times
- Conversation
- From Hesitation to Action: Building Advocacy Confidence in Museums
- Active Learning
2:00-3:15
- Scoring Big: A Playbook for Building a Culture of Philanthropy
- Conversation
- Aloha Nō - despair, healing and love in the time of HT25, the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025
- Active Learning
- Turn up the NOISE: Elevating Your Museum's Strategic Plan
- Active Learning
- Museum Experiences for Climate Engagement
- Active Learning
- Beyond the Budget: Unlocking Hidden Funds for Collections
- Active Learning
3:45-5:00
- Exhibit Redesign: Strategies for Success
- Passive Learning
- Let's Talk About the Needs/Experiences of AANHPI Museum Folks
- Conversation
- Museums in the Second Trump Administration
- Conversation
- On Governance: Elevating Museums Through Cooperative Models
- Conversation
- Elevating the Voices of Our People: The Journey of the Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center
- Conversation
Friday, October 3, 2025
9:00-10:15
- Exhibit Planning with Mission in Mind: "Big Ideas" Elevate Exhibits
- Active Learning
- NAGPRA and Collections: Repatriation-Centered Data Best Practices
- Passive Learning
- Decolonizing Science Narratives in Museums
- Conversation
- AI For Museum Professionals: Practical Tools and Smart Solutions
- Active Learning
- Let's Talk Leadership: Wins, Losses, and Everything in Between
- Conversation
11:00-12:15
- Using Evaluation and Data Story-telling for Successful Fundraising
- Active Learning
- Beyond Representation: Authentic Indigenous Engagement for Museums
- Active Learning
- Enhancing Accessibility: Supporting Blind and Low Vision Visitors in Museums
- Conversation
- Elevate WMA's D&I Committee: Help Us Establish Our Goals
- Conversation
- When Your Stuff Doesn't Fit: Addressing Collections Facility Challenges
- Active Learning
2:00-3:15
- Come as you Are: A discussion among emerging, mid-, and late-career museum professionals
- Active Learning
- Elevating Community Stories During Challenging Times
- Conversation
- ADROIT Workshop: Enhancing Visitor Experience Through Design
- Active Learning
- ELEVATE Museum Workplace Culture
- Passive Learning
- Many Voices: A discussion with Native leaders about how museums can better serve the Native community
- Conversation
Saturday, October 4, 2025
9:00-10:15
- Succession: How Museums Can Do It Better Than The TV Show
- Active Learning
- Beyond Words: Three Approaches to Test Titles and Messaging
- Active Learning
- Tending the Fire in Dark Moon Times
- Active Learning
- Filling the Well: Elevate Your Self-Care Practice
- Active Learning
11:00-12:15
- Found in Collections: Elevating Conundrums
- Conversation
- Exhibits with Intent: Designing exhibits as platforms for programming
- Conversation
- You Nailed It! Building a Media Toolbox
- Active Learning
- How the West Will Elevate America 250
- Conversation
3:45-5:00
- Destination Transformation: Effectively Navigating Organizational Change
- Active Learning
- Navigating New Policies - strategies for a changing political landscape
- Active Learning
- Increasing Collections Access Through Collaboration
- Active Learning