JANM Collections Manager Selected for Smithsonian Visiting Professionals Program

Kristen Hayashi

Kristen Hayashi, the collections manager at the Japanese American National Museum, has been selected for the Smithsonian Affiliations Visiting Professionals Program (VPP) for 2018.

Along with nine other professionals from across the Smithsonian Affiliates network, Hayashi will spend two weeks in Washington, D.C., exploring programmatic uses of digital technology with art collections.

With support from the Getty Foundation, the Visiting Professionals Program is designed to provide in-depth access to Smithsonian subject and technical experts, resources, and collections, allowing participants the time and support needed to tackle a pre-identified challenge for their organization, and equip them with tools and strategies to return home to effectively address the challenge.

Hayashi will be seeking strategies for developing a work plan to effectively digitize JANM’s extensive artwork holdings so that they can be well-presented to a broad online audience.

“Kristen is a tremendous asset to the museum and a valued member of our staff,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM president and CEO. “I’m proud that she was selected to participate in this outstanding professional development opportunity that will help inform key decisions and actions JANM takes with our collection as we seek to make it more widely available through digital technology.”

Hayashi will be in Washington from Oct. 29 through Nov. 9. There will be presentations by Smithsonian staff, small-group learning, site visits with deep dives into Smithsonian resources, problem solving exercises and other interactive learning activities.

Hayashi became the JANM collections manager in 2017. Prior to that she held a number of positions at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. She earned her BA in American studies from Occidental College and her MA in history, with a concentration in museum curatorship, from UC Riverside. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at UCR as well as a graduate research assistant and a teaching assistant there.