Leslie Bedford is the former Head of Exhibitions Research and Development and Director of the Comprehensive Japan Program Area at the

Boston Children's Museum Boston Children's Museum is a children's museum in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the education of children. Located on Children's Wharf along the Fort Point Channel, Boston Children's Museum is the second oldest children's museum in the ...

and Director of the Museum Leadership Program at the

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 ful ...

. She is known for her "Teen Tokyo" exhibit at the Boston Children's Museum, and "Choosing to Participate" in which she collaborated with

Facing History and Ourselves Facing History & Ourselves is a global non-profit organization founded in 1976. The organization's mission is to "use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate." The organization is based in Bost ...

. Bedford received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Harvard University and obtained her doctoral degree in Museum Studies from

Union Institute and University Union Institute & University (UI&U) was a private online university that was headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also operated satellite campuses in Florida and California. In early 2023, it began to experience severe financial challenges. ...

. Today, Bedford is a retired museum professional and a current member of The Museum Group.

Education and honors

* Vassar College, Bachelor of Arts in history, magna cum laude, 1962-1966. * Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Master of Arts in teaching, 1967-1969. * Senior Fulbright Research Fellow, Japan, 1986-1987. * Museum Management Institute (Getty Leadership Institute), 1993. * Union Institute and University, PhD in Museum Studies, 2004-2008. * Senior Fulbright Research Fellow, Argentina, 2010. * Residential Fellow, The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA, 2015.

Awards

* Bank Street College of Education Alumni Award Ida Karp Award, 2013

Publications

Books

* Bedford, Leslie. "Cultural Learning: Two Models" in ''Boston Stories: The Children's Museum as a Model for Nonprofit Leadership.'' Boston, Massachusetts, 2013. 191-201. * Bedford, Leslie. ''The Art of Museum Exhibitions: How Story and Imagination Create Aesthetic Experiences''. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2014.

Journals

* Bedford, Leslie. "Finding Common Ground." ''Curator: The Museum Journal'' 38, no. 1 (1995): 14-30. *Bedford, Leslie. “Storytelling: The Real Work of Museums.” ''Curator: The Museum Journal'' 44, no. 1 (2001): 27–34. *Bedford, Leslie. "La Orilla del Encanto: The Edge of Enchantment: Santo Domingo Cultural Center Oaxaca, Mexico." Curator: The Museum Journal 46, no. 4 (2003): 433-438. *Bedford, Leslie. "Lost Cases, Recovered Lives: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic: The New York State Museum at Albany." ''Curator: The Museum Journal'' 48, no. 2 (2005): 213-220. *D. Lynn McRainey, Leslie Bedford, Daniel Spock and Andrew Anway. "Imagining the Possibilities." ''Exhibitionist'' (2007): 40-52. * Bedford, Leslie. "A Conversation about Educational Leadership in Museums." ''The Journal of Museum Education'' 34, no. 2 (2009): 139-47. * Bedford, Leslie. “Musing about Museums and Time.” ''Curator: The Museum Journal'' 55, no.4 (2012): 393-400.

Other

*Bedford, Leslie. “Working In The Subjunctive Mood: Imagination And Museums.” PhD diss. Union Institute and University, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Leslie Museum educators

Boston Children's Museum Vassar College alumni Union Institute & University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people