Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director

I attended a conference shortly after I had become the Executive Director of the Michigan Museums Association (MMA) and attended a session focusing on being a “Charismatic Organization.” At the time, MMA was floundering. Our membership had been dropping, programming was limited, and we were really struggling to find some traction. But, that session, and the book it was anchored on, got me excited. It helped me better understand how to build an organization that embraced community building. I shared the idea with the board and recruited some volunteers and off we went.

• Submit a conference session proposal.
• Nominate someone for an award for leadership.
• Become a member of the Michigan Museums Association.
• Propose a half-day workshop for the conference.
• Nominate someone who is an advocate for the Michigan museum community for an award.
• Become a Museum Partner or Corporate Partner with the Michigan Museums Association
• Attend an online program, or several.
• Attend Arts and Culture Advocacy Day.
• Nominate an organization for a community engagement award.
• Contact your elected officials to amplify the efforts of MMA staff and others in advocating for Michigan museums and the people who work in them.
• Donate to MMA or MMA’s endowment.
• Submit the name of a colleague to receive recognition as a colleague champion.
• Consider including MMA in estate planning.
• Share MMA social media posts.

Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director

January is always a busy time for our state and federal government, and this year is no exception. And let’s be honest—there is a lot going on. I sometimes get overwhelmed by politics and the constant drama. I find it challenging to navigate through the rhetoric and posturing to understand what is really going on, and even more so to understand how I can have an impact, if any. I am easily discouraged and extremely cynical.

And yet, I still send emails to my legislators. I still read about new legislation proposed and passed. And, I still travel to advocacy days in Washington, D.C. and Lansing. In fact, the more chaotic or frustrating the landscape is, the more determined I get. Even when I have zero expectations of impact, I keep at it. “But Lisa,” you might say, “you just said you are discouraged and pessimistic. Why don’t you just throw up your hands and walk away?” Because I am really, really stubborn. And, because I know that it is my right and also my responsibility to participate in the process, even if sometimes I feel covered in slime afterward.

I was just talking to someone the other day about meetings I’ve attended with legislators who I don’t agree with. I shared a story of the time I visited the offices of the Michigan legislator who introduced bills to defund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Ok, so the meeting was not with the actual legislator, but it was with the staff member who likely wrote the language for the bill. So same difference.

I was dreading the meeting, but once I was there, I suddenly felt energized. As I calmly talked through the different “asks” of the meeting, including support of the Institute for Museum Library Services (IMLS) which is basically a sibling of the NEA and NEH, I felt a clear sense of purpose, and I shockingly felt empowered. Not to actually bring about change with that particular office— again, see deeply cynical above—but about having a voice and sharing it. As I shared how museums in that legislator’s district benefitted from public funding, including IMLS, NEA, NEH, it felt good. It felt good to talk about the work of Michigan’s museums and the impact they have in their communities. It felt good to tell stories of experiences at museums that had real meaning. And, it felt good to look them in the eye and make clear that their efforts to defund these entities would have a very real impact on their constituents. Apparently, even when feeling powerless, it still feels good to say words out loud that articulate what I think is important, especially to someone who didn’t appear to value that.

It is this experience, and this story, that I think of most when I feel discouraged and overwhelmed. I might not like the direction we are headed, and I might not think I can bring about significant change, but by golly I can use my voice and make sure the people who are representing me understand my perspective. And that feels important too.

Speaking of having a voice, there are two chances for members of the Michigan museums community to share theirs next month. A delegation from Michigan will be attending Museums Advocacy Day next month on February 24 and 25th. We will visit every Michigan office and ask for support for IMLS (and NEA and NEH) and incentives for charitable deductions for museum donations. You can participate by sending emails to your legislators that week that amplify our asks and give specific examples of how their actions impact your work and museum. Watch the MMA Weekly for more information about how to do that. The second chance is to attend Arts and Culture Advocacy Day in Lansing on February 27. For that event, you will connect with others involved in arts and culture organizations in Michigan and have meetings with your legislators or their staff (which I often prefer). Again, watch the MMA Weekly about how to participate.

Discouraged or empowered, it’s good to use your voice when it comes to advocacy!

I am still smiling from my experience at the annual conference last month in Kalamazoo! It was so wonderful to see everyone and get to spend time together (in person!) talking about the important work of museums. I am already looking forward to next year’s conference, which will be in the Greater Lansing area October 13–15. The tentative theme of the conference (we might still wordsmith a tad) is “The Future is Now,” and I wanted to share a little more about that.

As I headed downstate to do site visits to select the location for the 2025 conference, I recalled that at the 2015 conference we asked people what changes the field would see by 2025. During our site visits we saw a lot of manifestation of the innovation in the field that had been developing for the last decade or so. It was a lightbulb moment for me to see how so many things that were “coming” in 2015 have now arrived.

Thinking about that gave me pause to consider not just change, but the pace of change. Yes, the future we envisioned (or never saw coming) in 2015 is here, but so is the future we envisioned yesterday. It feels like the speed of change is accelerating and happening almost before we see it coming. 

Thinking about the idea of the future made me wonder what other conversations we might have around it. I have some thoughts, and I hope you will think about it too and consider being part of the conversation next year.

If you are interested in being part of the 2025 conference, we will have three planning teams (programs, events, and activities) that will meet January through May. We will also invite people to submit proposals for concurrent sessions, conversation stations, and Pecha Kucha-like presentations this coming winter and we expect to have the conference fully planned and open for early-bird registration by summer.

Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director

Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director

It’s renewal and recruiting time for MMA Member Communities, which means I’m having lots of conversations about building relationships. The Member Community program is intended to help members connect with each other around a professional development goal by sharing with and learning from each other. Of course, the learning part is a priority, but even more important to us in this program is the “each other” part. Member Communities are about the work we do, but also the colleagues we have relationships with.

We spend a lot of time during conference planning creating times and spaces so participants can meet and talk with each other. We know that one of the most important parts of that event is the connections that are created and renewed there each year. I completely understand that. Many times throughout my career, I have had sets of “conference friends” who I only saw once a year at whatever conference we were regularly attending. And, while I felt a strong connection to these colleagues, a bond can only go so deep when you only see each other for a few hours once a year.

My colleague relationships have been much stronger when I’ve served on projects, boards, or committees with people. It is easier to get to know someone’s work style, talents, and personality when you see them regularly, and those types of encounters build trust and connection. Even decades later, it is nothing for me to send a text or email to many of these colleagues with a question or to ask advice.

Those are the types of colleague relationships we are trying to create time and space for with the MMA Member Communities. We want you to be able to engage and connect with colleagues from throughout the state in a deeper way than at the conference. We want you to get to know each other’s work and expertise through ongoing exposure to each other. And, we want you to build trust and connection.

There are currently five member communities available to join and a process for creating even more. I hope you consider being part of one of these groups to connect with your colleagues on a higher level.

Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director

Sign-Ups for 2025 Member Communities are now open! MMA Member communities are groups of MMA members that meet virtually on a regular basis around a professional development topic. All members are invited to join one or more of the member communities based on your interests, professional development needs, and job responsibilities. Member communities are a wonderful way to network and connect with colleagues, share ideas, troubleshoot, brainstorm, and learn new skills to add to your professional toolkit. 

We currently have five member communities: Productivity and Time Management, Historic House Museums, Membership and Development, Exhibit Professionals, and Volunteer-Led Museums. 

The Productivity and Time Management member community is open to any member interested in learning about and sharing resources to increase productivity and maximize time management skills. This group welcomes all perspectives in regard to productivity and time management skill building. 

The Historic House Museums member community is open to any member who works in any capacity at a historic house museum. With a unique work environment, this group focuses on sharing ideas, resources, and experiences to help each other with issues and topics unique to historic house museums. Members working in roles in any aspect of running a historic house museum are invited to join, as topics are all inclusive. 

The Membership and Development member community is open to anyone who has a role in membership and/or development at their institutions. Whether it is your primary role or just one of many, members are invited to join in on the discussion to share resources, ask for advice, share tools and feedback, and discuss new ideas or trends within the field. 

The Exhibit Professionals member community is specifically for members whose primary role is in exhibition development and/or design. To join this group, exhibits must be your primary work focus. Members of this group come together to share knowledge relating to design, accessibility, interpretation, and visitor experience to create the foundation for high-quality exhibitions at their institutions. Their focus is to learn from each other, support each other, and discuss emerging topics and trends in exhibit work. 

The Volunteer-Led Museums member community is specifically designed for members who maintain and operate museums led by volunteers. Topics discussed in this group focus on the roles and responsibilities that are often handled by trained museum staff in bigger museums that are critical to the success of all-volunteer museums with fewer resources and less training. Discussions focus on idea and resource sharing, troubleshooting and brainstorming, and sharing decisions or providing updates on projects in which they seek peer feedback. 

Click here to learn more about the member communities and to read each group's purpose statement. 

All groups use Basecamp to connect and communicate and have monthly check-ins via Zoom that focus on a new topic each month. Recruitment and planning meetings are taking place August-October, and the monthly check-ins will run November-May. There will be opportunities to learn more about the member communities and to meet some current members at the annual conference in Kalamazoo this October. There will also be the opportunity to start new member communities on topics not currently represented—keep an eye out for updates on how to start that process in the near future.
 
The only requirements for joining a member community are that you must be a current MMA member, and you must commit to attending the monthly Zoom meetings at the scheduled time as often as possible. Participation is the key to success in a member community! 

To join an MMA Community, please complete this form by October 31, 2024. We hope you will consider joining a member community for the 2025 season!

2023 is off to a great start for the Michigan Museums Association, and for the first time in several years, I am back to having a more robust travel schedule. I had a trip to Grand Rapids, Flint, and Lansing at the end of January, and it is great to be back on the road again.

However, it is interesting how my travel has changed since the pandemic. In 2019, the last year I had a “typical” travel schedule, I felt a lot of pressure on my trips to initiate relationships and participate in meetings because I felt like I couldn’t do those things well from Northern Michigan. But, because we can do so much virtually, neither of those things felt that important this time around.

This has made me consider the opportunities travel provides:

Real-life Presence: The MMA staff spends several hours together each week via Zoom, but I got to spend time in-person with both Claire and Yitzack during my trip and it was wonderful to just BE with them more than two-dimensionally. I felt the same about having long dinners, and even walking down the sidewalk with others. It was wonderful to just be in the presence of members of the Michigan museum community in real life.

Deep engagement: The MMA Strategic Planning team has met for MANY hours working through the process, but we got more done in the three hours we met last month than we had in most of the hours on Zoom combined. It was easier to think, respond, and engage sitting around a table and looking at each other, rather than staring at our flat screens. We can engage on Zoom, but deep engagement, especially around discussion and decision making, seems better in person.

Perspective: I spend long hours at my desk each week, so getting away from that space, but still being in work mode was really helpful. I listened to work-related podcasts on the long car rides, and then was able to spend a whole morning processing some of the ideas I had as a result. I appreciated the chance to step away from the day-to-day and reflect in a way I couldn’t at my desk.

There are many more things I appreciate about my work travel, but those three have really given me something to think about. It makes me wonder how we can consider those elements in planning ALL in-person activities for MMA. Now, that we can get the basics done virtually, how can we be present, have deep engagement, and get perspective when we come together?


Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director

As you’ve now read, MMA is going to say goodbye to Claire Johnston in her current role. To say we are sad is an understatement. As you obviously know, she is very good at her job. She has brought thoughtfulness and class to everything she’s done.

I was an MMA Board member when Claire joined that group in 2010. One of my first memories of Claire on the board was her asking a question about how MMA was serving small museums. She has been an advocate for them, and all MMA members, every since. As Vice President for Programs, Claire did so much, but I especially remember her efforts on the 2014 conference, which was very frustrating at times.

I was thrilled to pieces when she applied to be the Membership Assistant in 2017. She has done much in that role including establishing a process for engaging lapsed members and implementing several membership level transitions. I don’t think the back-end management of the membership program was Claire’s favorite part of her job, but I know that engaging with members was, and she leaves that program in wonderful shape. We shifted Claire's role to also include communications in 2018, and that has been a game changer for MMA. She grew the communications program, which did not exist as an actual program when she took it on, to a robust set of communications tools and systems that not only “share the news”, but also connect the Michigan museum community with resources and expertise to help their museums thrive. She has set a high bar for whoever comes next.

I know I can speak for Yitzack and the MMA Board of Directors when I say that though we will miss all that Claire did in her “job” at MMA, we will miss all that she is as a colleague, co-worker, and friend even more. She has made our lives better and our work easier for having been part of MMA, and we wish only the best for her.

 
Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director

I always look forward to the end of the year. I appreciate the chance to look back on the successes of the year, and I’m glad to feel the relief that challenging projects are over! Once I’ve properly processed and found closure for the past twelve months, I reward myself by thinking about all the hopes and dreams I have for the coming year.

My 2023 wish list for MMA is for a wonderful awards celebration in May, a fabulous conference in October, many hours engaging with the Michigan museum community, sharing lots of great information and resources to help people in their museum work, and the chance to talk to people about the value of museums. I also wouldn’t mind solid revenue numbers, lots of staff and board bonding, and really good time management on my end, so I can enjoy all of the above.

This got me thinking about my wish list for the Michigan museums community. My wishes for you are a more stable and predictable year, being valued by the people you serve and sustained by your community, connections to the information you need and the people who can support you, and many moments when you feel a sense of success in your mission.

Congratulations on making it to the end of 2022! May the New Year bring you all of my wishes for you and time to spend with the Michigan Museums Association!


Lisa Craig Brisson
Executive Director