Zahava Doering

She entered the University of Chicago at the age of 14 and holds a PhD in Sociology. She began her career conducting studies at the Pentagon, before moving on to the Smithsonian Institution, where she has spent a lifetime dedicated to exhibition planning and evaluation from the visitor’s perspective. From the Smithsonian’s Institutional Studies Office she produced reports on a wide range of issues across most of the museums in the complex (the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, and many more). In recent years, now based in New York, she continues to collaborate on museum projects such as the 9/11 Memorial Museum and the Empire State Building Museum. She has had a long-running role as editor of Curator: The Museum Journal, of which she remains Editor Emerita. She has taught on numerous master’s programmes, particularly at George Washington University, and has published influential articles and memoranda, although her work has been most visible through countless contributions to international congresses such as those of the VSA, AAM, ICOM and the Inclusive Museums network. With remarkable energy, Zahava continues to provide consultancy for museums and cultural institutions.