How do we move beyond assuming what our communities need, to truly understand and respond to their interests? Join Educational Programs Manager Aimee Keithan (Greater Portland Landmarks), Museum Education Specialist Kate Webber (Maine State Museum), and Mayfield Museum Curator Kim Smith (Presque Isle Historical Society) for a collaborative workshop where we'll work through these questions together.
We'll offer a framework for thinking about community-centered programming, then flesh it out with your experiences and ideas. Together, we'll explore how to identify what your communities actually want from your institution, develop creative programs that respond to these needs, and figure out what success really looks like. Through discussion and hands-on exercises, we'll learn from each other's challenges and successes.
Whether you're just starting to think about community partnerships or looking to strengthen existing relationships, you'll leave with practical approaches shaped by the collective wisdom in the room—strategies you can adapt and use in your own work.
About the Presenters:
Aimée Keithan is Educational Programs Manager at Greater Portland Landmarks. A native Mainer, she holds a PhD in Historic Buildings Conservation from the University of York, UK. Her research focuses on uncovering unrecorded histories through examining American and British buildings.
She previously held roles as Executive Director at Boothbay Region Historical Society and Museum Manager at Pejepscot History Center, as well as working at historic house museums and archives in America and Britian. She has completed research fellowships at George Washington's Mount Vernon and the Preservation Society of Newport County, RI. She enjoys sharing her research academically and through public lectures.
Kate Webber is a lead educator at the Maine State Museum. She has an M.A. in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program with a focus on public programming and education. She is a graduate of Bates College, where she studied Anthropology with a concentration in Environment, Place, and History. Kate currently serves on the board of the Maine Association of Archives and Museums.
Kate has fifteen years’ experience in community outreach, public history, and humanities work. She previously worked as the Director of Education & Outreach at Lewiston’s Museum L-A and Communications & Development Assistant with the Maine Humanities Council. She spent two years on Swan’s Island as a Historical Preservation Fellow with the Island Institute, where she wrote a weekly newspaper column, joined a band and knitting club, and published a book based on local oral history.
Kimberly Smith holds a Diploma in Non-Profit Management from Shenandoah University and a Master’s of Science in Business Administration from Husson University. She has served as the de facto Executive Director of Presque Isle Historical Society since 2008, currently serves as the Executive Director of Presque Isle Community Development Association and as the chair of Aroostook County Tourism. Kim has been recognized by Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce as Citizen of the Year 2008, by Presque Isle Rotary with a Paul Harris Fellowship and with a Service Above Self Award, an Excellence Award from the New England Museum Association, and with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the President's Council of Service and Civic Participation.
In her role with Presque Isle Historical Society, Kim curates all exhibits for the Maysville Museum, has researched and created 15 different types of tours and over 100 historical PowerPoint presentations.
Kim is a published author and has had the honor of being a Presenting Scholar at both the Deerfield-Wellesley Symposium and the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife. She has been an adjunct professor for the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Northern Maine Community College. In addition, she has served on numerous boards such as Maine Archives & Museums, Maine Historical Society, Presque Isle Air Museum, Seniors Achieving Greater Education, Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce, 1st Night Virginia, Virginia Festivals & Events Association, and South Florida March of Dimes.
Christiana Becker is the Curator of Education at the Abbe Museum. In 2018, Christiana received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art with a concentration in printmaking from the University of Maine as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education. In 2022, Christiana received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Intermedia at the University of Maine. Becker's teaching experiences include: a teaching assistant/residential tutor for the Mashpee Wampanoag Native Tribal Scholars Program, student teaching at Orono High School and James F. Doughty Middle School, and working for the Indian Island School's Summer Academy program. Some of her accomplishments while working at the Abbe Museum include being a facilitator at the Allen Island Summer 2023 Retreat: Implementing Wabanaki Studies through the Arts, being a panelist on Side x Side's webinar: Museums and their Resources, and offering a screening of the documentary, “We Are the Warriors” at the College of the Atlantic along with being a member of the Q&A panel.
Growing up on Alenape Menehan (Indian Island) gave Becker firsthand experience with her culture like drumming, dancing, the Panawahpskek language and storytelling. Her love of art began while she attended Indian Island School. Some of her earliest artwork was selected to be part of the Waponhaki Student Art Show sponsored by the Abbe Museum.
Now, as Christiana engages in her art practice, her first steps often include exploring, researching and learning more about her Penobscot heritage as well as the history, culture, and sociopolitical pressures that affect all North American Indigenous peoples. This initial exploration stage of her artmaking leads into using those research topics as a springboard to creating art. Most recently, Becker has painted a mural at the Maine Discovery Museum in downtown Bangor. Other recent accomplishments include: leading a loom beading demonstration at Colby College's Museum of Art 2023 Fall Open House, offering a presentation and Zoom recording of her artwork and educational experience at the University of Maine at Machias Wabanaki Voices series in 2024, being a panelist focused on Indigenous and Non-Indigenous educators sharing their personal Wabanaki Studies journeys for MCSTOYA (Maine County and State Teacher of the Year Association) Connects with Indigenous Reads in 2024, and being a panelist for Historic New England's Historic Wαpάnαhkəyαk panel discussion at Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum in 2024.
