PROPOSAL TYPE
Experiential
SEEKING
- Seeking Additional Presenters
RELATED TOPICS
- Leadership
- Reflections on the Field
- Teaching and Training
ABSTRACT
In the revolutionary times we find ourselves facing, museums and cultural institutions must prepare in advance for the inevitable emergency that will impact our staff and guests. How to mitigate a human disaster is just as important, if not more so, than knowing how best to protect the objects in our collections. This session will explore emergency preparedness from the human perspective.
DESCRIPTION
As a former museum director and full time paramedic with over 30 years in the museum field and 20 years in emergency services, I see the need to bridge my two professional backgrounds to better prepare my colleagues for the inevitable emergency at their respective organizations/institutions. Whether a medical emergency or illness befalls a guest or staff member, damage to the building(s) forces an evacuation, or a person with malicious intent enters our spaces, museums and cultural sites must be ready with more than just the hope that “first responders will get here in time”. I seek to prepare my colleagues, and am interested in finding fellow museum professionals with similar backgrounds to help me expand on this topic and to prepare practical scenarios that engage the attendees in more than just one style of learning.
Organizations that fail to prepare are preparing to fail, as they say. With a group of fellow presenters representing a broad base of knowledge, this session will inspire those who attend to take their experiences back to their colleagues in order to help them all to prepare for the worst case scenarios.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly:
James Sturgill, Independent Consultant, [email protected]
All feedback and offers of assistance should be sent by November 15, 2025. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
This sounds like a great pre- or post-workshop option given your practical experience. I suggest you submit as a workshop rather than a 75-minute session.