SPEAKERS

Heryte T. Tequame is the Director of Communications and Digital Projects at the Queens Museum in New York. She leads the museum’s digital content strategy and has been deeply involved in the digitalization of The Panorama of the City of New York. She works with both staff members and external teams to shape and disseminate content that is engaging and accessible to broader audiences and centers the museum’s exhibitions, programs, and mission. Heryte earned her B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in Communications and Media Studies from Sciences Po Paris. She has worked with the Rencontres d’Arles, Paris Photo Fair, Photo Levallois, Fondation Henri-Cartier Bresson, and several other cultural organizations in both Europe and the United States. Heryte joined the Queens Museum team in 2020.

Dr. Synatra Smith is a cultural anthropologist exploring extended reality (XR) and other digital tools to enhance special collections and archival records featuring African American art, history, and culture with the specific intention of documenting workflows that can be shared with students, cultural heritage workers, and scholars interested in building digital projects without relying on a large budget or team. She sits at the intersection of researcher; gallery, library, archives, and museum (GLAM) professional; and digital humanities practitioner. Storytelling and narrative-building are central to that experience and her goal is to identify ways to engage target user communities throughout the life of these projects through more inclusive means that integrate feedback loops and myriad learning styles. Through her diligent work and commitment to professional excellence, she has been elevated to participate in several mentorship and leadership opportunities. She was a primary mentor for the LEADING Fellowship hosted through Drexel University’ Metadata Research Center. She has also served as a mentor for the Robert F. Smith internship program at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a co-editor of the Curated Futures Project: A Third Library Is Possible through the Council on Library and Information Resources, and the secretary for the Association of African American Museums (AAAM) Emerging Museum Professionals committee. Currently, she is in a AAAM working group to identify ways to build capacity for member institutions through traveling, shared, and collaborative exhibitions, and AAAM awarded her the 2022 Pace Setter award. She recently joined the inaugural cohort of the AAAM-Howard University School of Business Advanced Executive Leadership training program and is eager to continue to advocate for the interests of institutions and individuals committed to the preservation of African-descended cultures and communities.

Nils Wöbke is the director of the office of accessibility – capito Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He leads an advisory board for people with disabilities, is a board member of the national "Lebenshilfe" at state level and also a book author for inclusion topics. He has a diploma in education, University of Cologne / Germany and a master of Social Management, Leuphana University Lüneburg / Germany and is also a supervisor. 

His professional focus is on disabilities studies, inclusion and (digital) accessibility and his work is based on Action Plans for the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. 

He is leading current (international) projects and initiatives in the fields of culture, politics and digital education and his work in inclusive teams with self advocates earned awards at the Zero conference and the German award "Land of ideas".

Kimmo Levä is Director General of the Finnish National Gallery. His previous positions have included Managing Director of the Finnish Museums Association and its companies, Museum Director at Mobilia (National Road Traffic Museum) and Director of Museum Services in Turku City.

He has served as board member of many museums and associations, including the Finnish Design Museum, the Finnish Postal Museum, Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova (Museums of Archeology and Contemporary Art), The Culture for All Association, Europa Nostra Finland and the Finnish Museums Directors Association. He also has experience in international museum organizations, such as the ICOM’s International Committee for Museum Management (INTERCOM) and the Network of European Museum Organizations (NEMO).

Kimmo specializes in the commercialization of museum services, and strategic and financial management of museums. He holds an MBA from the University of Wales and an MA in history and political science from Tampere University. He has published several books, articles, and numerous blog post connection with the museum field.

Panagiota Polymeropoulou serves as a Senior researcher & manager at the DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University in Greece, specializing in EU-funded Research & Development Projects. With a background in Archaeology, she holds a Master of Science (MSc.) with honors in Cultural Informatics and Communication, focusing on Museology from the University of the Aegean. 

Panagiota has practical experience as an archaeologist in excavations with the Service of Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. She also worked as adjunct faculty at the Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, where she taught cultural heritage and museology. 

Her professional and academic pursuits primarily revolve around museology, digital cultural heritage, virtual archaeology, e-learning, and ICT skills in culture. Her research findings have been disseminated through publications in scientific journals and conference proceedings. Furthermore, she is an active member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA).

Livi is a passionate advocate for leveraging digital technology to transform the cultural sector. As a freelance e-Curator for Much Adu About, she specializes in geology, decolonizing histories, and promoting inclusivity through storytelling and creative mediums. With over a decade of digital marketing experience, Livi brings expertise in social media, SEO, and User Experience (UX) to her work in the museum sector.

Currently serving on the Museums Association code of ethics review board and as a committee member of the Museum Computer group, Livi is dedicated to shaping a more accessible heritage sector. In her role, she explores the integration of Games, VR, AR, and AI to enrich arts and culture, with a vision of welcoming contributions from all and creating a transformative cultural landscape.