244: What It’s Like to Be Chief Curator at the International Spy Museum w/ Dr. Alexis Albion, International Spy Museum [Main T4C episode]

Dr. Alexis Albion is the lead curator at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC which reopened in a new building in May 2019.  In this role, Dr. Albion was responsible for conceptualizing the 5 main galleries of the museum and ensuring the content appealed to as wide an audience as possible. Prior to joining the Spy Museum Dr Albion worked at The World Bank Group and the US State Department.  However, she got her first significant hands on experience in the intelligence world, after finishing her PhD in 2002, when she was hired as a professional staff member of the 9/11 Commission after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Dr. Albion did not study museum curating in college or in graduate school and was a history major at Princeton University.  Her professional journey is a great example of how following your interests can lead you to truly unexpected places! WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE: What a museum curator does at the International Spy Museum Why your major doesn’t matter What are all the moving pieces involved in conceptualizing a new museum How technology is playing an important role in curating Why to take more risks in what you study in college Why being a museum curator is a lot like being a teacher or an educator