Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit
Leveraging a National Partnership to Expand Institutional Capacity, Visibility and Strategic Positioning
Challenge: Position a small, resource-limited museum to successfully secure, fund and deliver a national-level exhibition while expanding audience reach and institutional capacity.
Led the successful proposal and execution of a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, bringing a nationally recognized program to a local museum and expanding community access to cultural programming.
As Assistant Director of the Wake Forest Historical Museum, I developed the winning application, coordinated institutional partnerships and oversaw communications and programming to support the exhibit’s launch and engagement.
I quickly understood that hosting Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America had the potential to expand audience reach and reposition the museum as a more visible and credible institution.
I wrote the successful grant proposal with that broader objective in mind. The application was intentionally designed as an integrated initiative rather than a discrete event—pairing the Smithsonian exhibition with a locally developed companion exhibit (Sports in Wake Forest), a defined public programming strategy, a coordinated communications plan and a diversified funding approach. This framing positioned the museum not simply as a host site, but as an active partner capable of interpreting national content through a local lens.
Once selected, I assumed responsibility for aligning strategy with execution across several concurrent workstreams. I served as the primary liaison with Smithsonian staff, managing logistics, compliance and adherence to national standards.
In parallel, I worked with the museum's executive director and board to launch a fundraising strategy that generated more than $42,000 while also managing grant compliance and reporting. I coordinated internal staff, volunteers and external partners to ensure that programming, exhibit development and communications were not operating independently, but reinforcing a single, coherent objective.
A key operational priority was scaling capacity in advance of increased demand. I led the recruitment and training of more than 50 volunteers to serve as docents, creating a sustainable support structure that allowed the museum to absorb a significant increase in visitation without diminishing the quality of the experience. This approach balanced immediate operational needs with longer-term organizational benefit.
150,000
social media
and traditional media
reach
$42,000+
in total
funds
raised
3,000
estimated
museum
visitors
1,100
program and
event
participants
The outcomes reflected both execution and intent. Over six weeks, the museum welcomed nearly 3,000 visitors—an increase of more than 60 percent over the previous year—with a measurable expansion in first-time and regional audiences. Public programming drew more than 1,100 participants, and a coordinated communications strategy generated media reach exceeding 150,000 people.
Equally important, the initiative strengthened institutional relationships with Wake Forest University and local partners and demonstrated the museum’s ability to successfully manage a complex, multi-stakeholder project.
The lasting impact was not limited to attendance or revenue. The project established a new baseline for what the organization could plan, support and deliver. It reinforced internal confidence, expanded external credibility and created a model for approaching future opportunities with a similar level of strategic intent.
This work reflects a leadership approach centered on leverage and alignment: identifying opportunities that can advance multiple priorities simultaneously, structuring them to do so and executing in a way that produces both immediate results and durable organizational value.
