Jean Svadlenak brings 35 years of museum experience to her work on projects documenting, preserving, and interpreting community history. She works with clients to develop dynamic strategic plans, assess, organize and make collections accessible, and produce engaging history exhibits. Jean’s commitment and enthusiasm for helping organizations plan and implement projects according to standards and best practices in the museum and archives professions is evident in her projects and client relationships.
Recent projects include:
- Facilitating strategic planning for Shawnee Town, 1929, to create a unique, outdoor museum environment and programming where visitors learn what life was like in this truck farming community in the 1920s.
- Managing a project team to: conduct a physical inventory and move the collection of the Black Archives of Mid-America to its newly-renovated facility. Providing the Board with an assessment of the collection and recommendations for future development.
- Research and development of “Americans by Choice: The Story of Immigration & Citizenship in Kansas” a permanent exhibit in conjunction with the U.S. District Court, District of Kansas’ 150th anniversary.
- Produced “The American Dream in Kansas: In Their Own Words,” a video where naturalized citizens share their stories.
- Coordinating training programs and workshops for the Heritage League of Greater Kansas City, focusing on improving collections care, documentation and interpretation in small museums.
- Research and writing biographies of Kansas City philanthropists whose legacy foundations continue to benefit universities, social service agencies, medical research, and arts and culture in the community in meaningful ways.
Prior to establishing a consulting practice in 1989, Jean served as Curator, then President at the Kansas City Museum. During her 11-year tenure at the Museum she coordinated all curatorial and exhibition activities. While she was President, the Museum opened a 5,000 sq. ft. satellite museum in downtown Kansas City and was accredited by the American Association of Museums.
Jean is a graduate of the Cooperstown Graduate Program and Museum Management Institute. She has served as adjunct faculty to the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City teaching graduate level museum studies courses. Her passion is sharing compelling stories in ways that help people relate historical facts and figures to their own lives through the sacrifices, experiences and accomplishments of others.
Jean Svadlenak
Svadlenak Museum Consulting
624 Romany Road
Kansas City, MO 64113
816 361-5639 phone
816 213-7374 mobile
jeansvkc@gmail.com
http://svadlenakmuseumconsulting.wordpress.com/