Anna L. Weissman, PhD
Curator & Exhibit Developer | Decorative Arts & Historic Interiors
Denver, CO • 847.890.2734 • annaweissmanphd@gmail.com • AnnaWeissmanPhD.com

 

​Work Experience

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History Colorado, Denver, CO

Associate Curator of Domestic Life (January 2024-April 2025)

• Directed research, registration, cataloging, and care of decorative, fine arts, and domestic life collection across 11 museums and historic sites, including paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, furniture, glass, and metalwork.

• Served as institutional subject-matter expert in 19th- and 20th-century American decorative arts 

• Extensive experience with CMS platforms for object cataloging, inventory, and documentation.

• Provided exhibition support aiding conceptual development, research and interpretation, object selection, and object loan origination, specifically incorporating domestic artifacts to explore everyday life in pivotal eras on large-scale exhibitions in 5,000 sq.ft. marquis exhibit gallery:

• • The 90s: The Last Decade Before the Future exhibition (Nov. 2024 - Oct. 2025)

  • Moments that Made US: Turning Points in American History exhibition (Nov. 2025 - Oct. 2026)

• Collaborated with faculty and university partners (including CU Anschutz School of Medicine) on programming, advancing interdisciplinary and community engagement goals

• Supervised and trained interns, volunteers, and contractors in curatorial practices, offering students real-world experience in exhibition development, collections care, and interpretive research

• Engaged donors and community members through collection access tours, programs, and presentations that reinforced institutional advancement goals.

• Developed and presented public programs in collaboration with the Stephen H. Hart Research Center; contributed to institutional DEAI goals through inclusive storytelling and object interpretation

 

Senior Exhibit Developer (June 2023 - January 2024)

• Oversaw development and installation of 8 major exhibitions annually, supervising 2 exhibit developers and coordinating with cross-functional teams.

• Directed exhibition planning, interpretive strategy, and installation, ensuring adherence to AAM best practices.

• Led development of interpretive texts, AV media scripts and exhibition catalogs

• Gained practical experience in exhibition preparation including mount creation and object support design

• Exhibitions included:

  • Winter Warriors: the 10th Mountain Division in WWII (5,000 sq.ft. marquis gallery space; Nov 2023 - Oct 2024)

  • Where is Denver’s Chinatown? Stories Remembered, Reclaimed, Reimagined (Oct 2024 - Aug 2025) - in collaboration with UC Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning and community partners

  • Danielle SeeWalker: But We Have Something to Say - (Feb. 2024 – Sept. 2024) in collaboration with Indigenous artist Danielle SeeWalker

  • Through the Lens: The Photography of Frank Muramoto (Oct. 2023 – Oct.2024) in collaboration with the Pueblo City-County Library District

  • Flow: On the River with John Fielder (Jan. 2024 – Jan. 2025)

  • Owl Club of Denver: Legacies of Excellence (May 2024 - May 2025) in collaboration with Owl Club members and board

• Collaborated with marketing and education teams to broaden audience engagement

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Historic Preservation Commission of La Porte, Indiana (September 2021-April 2023)

Chair, mayoral appointment 

• Provided executive leadership for the city’s preservation commission, directing compliance and strategic priorities

• Oversaw designation of historic districts and landmark properties, applying expertise in preservation standards, law, and architectural history.

• Led high-level policy discussions and built consensus among city officials, property owners, and community stakeholders to advance preservation initiatives.

 

The Historic Barker Mansion, Michigan City, IN (July 2020-April 2022)

Curatorial Fellow (July 2020-Dec 2020); Curator (Dec 2020 - April 2022), Acting Director (Dec 2020-May 2021)

• Managed $2-million-dollar historical collection, digital archive, and physical archive of 18th-20th century European and American decorative and fine arts

• Advised Board of Directors on long-term direction and intellectual emphases for the museum, its exhibits, and programming

• Produced multi-year refurnish plan for 35,000-square-foot, 38-room mansion originally built in 1857

• Supervised curatorial staff, interns, and volunteers, providing training in object care and historic interpretation

• Exhibition Development

  • Produced permanent exhibit on historic Haskell & Barker Factory, Legacy of Freight (opened December 2022) and managed exhibit team based in Chicago, New York City, and Michigan City

  • Coordinated exhibition development, design, graphics, production, and installation, and management of $300,000 budget

  • Produced quarterly temporary exhibits which centered the collection and family history 

• Restoration Project Management

  • Helped manage $4.5-million-dollar site improvements, structural repairs, and restoration projects

  • Provided weekly project updates and design input with guided presentations for Board of Directors in New York City

• Directed educational programs (tours, lectures, community events), and produced newsletters and social media interpretation.

 

Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C. (Jan 2020-June 2020)

Research Historian [left due to Covid-19 closure of institution]

• Member of exhibition team for Girlhood: It’s Complicated (June 2020- January 2025) and other major initiatives in collaboration with the Smithsonian Latino Center and Asian Pacific American Center

• Conducted acquisition research, donor communication, and collection documentation

• Trained in nonprofit budgeting, grant writing, and collections management through Smithsonian professional development

 

Matheson History Museum, Gainesville, FL (Dec 2018-Aug 2019)

Interpretative Planner

• Planned exhibit and generated theme, storyboard, and content, historical writing, interpretation, and exhibit script for temporary exhibition for “McCarthy Moment: The Johns Committee at the University of Florida (1958-59),” Feb 2020-Aug 2020

 

Panama Canal Museum Collection, Special Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (Feb 2018-Aug 2019)

Guest Curator and Researcher

• Planned exhibit and generated theme, storyboard, and content, historical writing, interpretation, and exhibit script, catalogues, and media for temporary exhibition of “Fog of War? WWII Propaganda in the Panama Canal Zone,” Spring 2020

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International Feminist Journal of Politics

Managing Editor (2012-2013)

Managed timeline of all manuscripts from initial submission review, Referee review, edits, copyediting, to publication, and coordinated processes with internationally-based Executive Board and Editors

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TEACHING APPOINTMENTS

University of Florida, Department of Political Science, Gainesville, FL
Instructional Designer and Instructor (2012-2019)
•    Designed new 17-week courses including all pedagogical materials, student learning outcomes, exam assessments, and weekly assignments; designed and managed course's web-based learning management system
o    Politics of Eastern Europe (CPO 3614/EUS 3930)
o    Introduction to International Relations (INR 2001)
o    Politics of World Economy (INR 2024) 
•    Converted traditional semester in-person INR 2001 course to abbreviated 10-week online course, offered during summer term; designed, wrote, and filmed all media content; designed and managed all course assessments and web-based learning management systems

 

Santa Fe College, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Gainesville, FL,
Instructional Designer and Instructor (2015-2019)
•    Designed new 16-week general education courses including all pedagogical materials, student learning outcomes, exam assessments, and weekly assignments; designed and managed courses' web-based learning management system
o    Introduction to American Politics (POS 2041)   
o    Introduction to Global Politics (INR 2001)

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EDUCATION

PhD, Political Science (2019)

MA, Political Science (2014)

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 

Interdisciplinary coursework in Anthropology, Gender Studies, and Museum Studies​

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BA, International Studies (2010)

Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL 

Magna Cum Laude with coursework in Anthropology, Economics, History, Sociology, and Political Science 

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Troubling Motherhood: Interrogations of Maternality in Global Politics (Oxford University Press, 2020) – Co-Editor

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“Ideal Citizens and Family Values” in Troubling Motherhood (Oxford University Press, 2020)

 

“Repronormativity and the Reproduction of the Nation-State: The State and Sexuality Collide.” (Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 2016)

 

Doctoral Dissertation: The Limits of Tolerance: LGBTQ Parenting Rights and National Identity in Europe (University of Florida, 2019)

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PROFESSIONAL TRAINING 

Winterthur Institute, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library (April 2024)

• 70 hours of professional development in an immersive study of the history, interpretation, and care of American decorative arts 

• Participated in 51 sessions by 23 instructors and a community of accomplished colleagues in small-group seminars with curators and staff professionals in the rooms of Henry Francis du Pont’s 175-room home, conservation lab, library, and archives 

 

Museum Collections, Smithsonian National Museum of American History (Feb 2020) 

• Components of collections management (legal responsibilities, cataloging, object conservation, and insurance and transportation), basic collections management functions related to physical objects and specimens (handling, condition reporting and packing and storing), applying basic data standards for objects (common data elements used by every collection, electronic or paper), developing policies, plans, and procedures related to collections management (collections management policy, collections plan, repatriation policy, disaster/emergency preparedness plan) 

 

Preparing a Grant Budget, Smithsonian National Museum of American History (March 2020)

• Typologies, income statements, expenses, non-profit plans, grant proposal tips, project management pitfalls, case study analysis 

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SELECTED AWARDS AND GRANTS 

• Dissertation Completion Award, University of Florida Graduate School, $20,000 (2019)

• James W. Button Research Award, University of Florida Department of Political Science (2019) 

• Kenneth Sherrill Prize, American Political Science Association (2018) 

• FLAS Fellowship, U.S. Dept. of Education, $27,000 (2013–2017) 

• Pulaski Graduate Scholarship, American Council for Polish Culture, $5,000 (2014)

 

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS 

Annual meetings of the International Studies Association (2013-2018), 

Annual meetings of the International Studies Association-Northeast Region (2015-2018) 

Annual meetings of the International Studies Association-South Region (2017) 

Annual meeting of the International Feminist Journal of Politics (2014, 2016) 

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PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP 

American Alliance of Museums (AAM) 

AAM Historic Houses and Sites Network 

The Decorative Arts Trust 

National Trust for Historic Preservation 

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LANGUAGES 

English (native)

Polish (C1)

French (B2)