A Quick Chat With Northwest African American Museum's New Chief Executive Officer, Brandon Bird

by Jas Keimig

Earlier this month, the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) announced that Brandon Bird was unanimously selected by the NAAM board of directors to become the new chief executive officer at the museum. He was chosen from a pool of more than 90 candidates to serve in the role after LaNesha DeBardelaben, who departed last October.

"The search committee was impressed by his strategic vision and leadership style, and we are confident that Mr. Bird will continue to drive NAAM's mission to support and elevate Black art and culture in the Pacific Northwest," said Sherry Williams, the board of directors vice chair, in a press release announcing the news.

Before being selected to this position, Bird served as the museum's interim executive director and vice president of operations at NAAM, overseeing the museum's daily operations as well as areas such as mission performance and financial planning. He came to NAAM from Cornish College of the Arts, where he served as vice president of operations. During his time at the museum, Bird was instrumental in bringing Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See to NAAM (and the West Coast!).

"We believe the Till story is extremely rich in its depth. Obviously, it centers on an act of senseless brutality that happened to Emmett Till, but the remarkable courage that Mamie Till-Mobley showed in response to that and how that remarkable courage impacted the Civil Rights Movement is deep in its ability to share lessons," Bird reflected in a recent interview.

We had a quick chat with Bird about his new role, the responsibilities NAAM bears as a museum centering the Black experience in the region, and his short- and long-term goals for the institution.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How's the past month been as the official chief executive officer of NAAM?

I'm still on a learning curve, especially when it comes to managing some additional connection points that have increased since the announcement. But I think what comes to mind is it's been really heartening to see people in the city reaching out and saying "Congratulations, I'd love to connect with you." I don't know if I anticipated that ahead of the announcement, so it's been a real humbling and thankful surprise. Just the amount of people that care about the museum, care about the person who's serving as the lead steward of the museum, and really wanting to help where they can. I knew we were always really well-eceived within the community — and certainly that was my experience in the interim for the months prior — but it just seemed to increase.

NAAM is one of the only museums dedicated to the experience of Black Americans in the Pacific Northwest. What comes along with the responsibility of being a museum telling that story in this particular region of the country?

Certainly we have to be authentic at all times and open to the full range of the community. And oftentimes [that means] being super intentional with how we carry out our programming, because we really are the only one that's filling that role within the Pacific Northwest from a museum standpoint. What comes with it is a challenge … of how we fit all of these rich remarkable stories around the Black experience specifically within the Pacific Northwest within a calendar year. That's always gonna be a challenge, but it's a challenge we embrace, and it's certainly not one we look at in any other way but a positive. But whatever we're able to focus on or slot in for one day, there may be three, four other very deserving topics that we're not able to slot in for that same day.

What are some of your goals in your first year serving as an executive director?

It's really to double down on the rich programming history that the museum has had in its 16 years, which on one hand feels super young. But on the other hand, not [so young] because of NAAM's impact since the doors opened in 2008. We really want to expand upon that and then also look for opportunities to highlight local artists within the Pacific Northwest. We really want to contribute as much as possible to increasing the wattage that is available through the museum to highlight the great work that's out there for the full range of artistry from emerging and existing Black artists. It's really to focus on what we've shown we do really well, while also looking at opportunities to expand our impact around delivering our mission. I look forward to collaborating more with other community organizations, and through those conversations, opportunities will surface that will align with our mission and theirs. We'll be able to do something potentially that we haven't done before.

What are the kind of challenges that a museum like NAAM faces now, four years from the beginning of the pandemic?

I think all nonprofits share in this challenge of ensuring that they're very well-structured to be sustainable and that they're being responsive to their supporters at the same time. Those two things are sometimes a head and a tail to the same coin. One of the things that I love about this museum is its ability to be nimble in its programming and also in the exhibits that we have. I think that allows us to continue to be fresh with the stories that we're telling and how we're engaging with our supporters or people who want to learn more about us. Then, hopefully, we bring them along as supporters once they engage. The challenge is to make sure we're staying in connection with the community and we're really hearing them, we're soliciting information and perspectives around subject matter that they also want to engage with, and that we're not just so insular that we're just hearing our own voices.

What are your longer-term goals for the organization? Where do you see NAAM in five years? In 10 years?

I look forward to further expanding in the coming years. What I mean by that is the impact around our mission, but then also our [expanding] presence, especially nationally. Not necessarily focusing on a national image, it's just that so many people who grew up or were born within this region have relocated to different places. One thing that the museum was able to do during the pandemic was pivot to a digital environment. I think there's a lot of opportunity there for us to further expand within the digital landscape and try to stay in touch with the full range of our supporters. Only so many of them are able to come and visit us in the physical environment. So if we're able to stay connected with them in the digital landscape, I think it is to our benefit and theirs.

Featured image designed by the Emerald team; photo courtesy of NAAM.