Carrie Hertz (Ph.D. Indiana University) is Curator of Textiles and Dress at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Previously she directed a community-based public folk arts program and taught classes as the Curator of Folk Arts at the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University. She is editor of Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia (IU Press) and author of a range of publications including “Public Folklore Curatorship: Collaborating with Emerging Refugee Communities” (Folklife and Museums: 21st Century Perspectives, ed. Dewhurst, Hall, and Seeman) and “This is Not a Costume: Re(centering) Community Interpretations of Dress in Museum Collections” (Museum Anthropology Review).
What are the most significant opportunities or challenges now facing AFS, and how as a member of the Nominating Committee would you respond to those opportunities or challenges?
I am grateful to be considered for this opportunity to serve the field and the Society. As a member of the Nominating Committee, I look forward to collaborating with colleagues to cultivate an inclusive and effective leadership, one that genuinely reflects and further expands the diversity of our membership. I wish to build on the momentum of previous committee members to identify and reduce the barriers that prevent new students and professionals from entering the field and actively participating in the Society. By recruiting candidates with varied perspectives and experiences to positions in governance, we can continue to intellectually enrich the field and develop innovative approaches to advancing AFS’s goals to promote the visibility and impact of our work, foster international cooperation, and advocate for the well-being of allied communities. In this role as a Nominating Committee member, I hope to further extend the progressive steps taken by my predecessors to strengthen AFS’s mission to expand professional opportunities and challenge inequities for members working in all sectors at all stages of their careers.