We’re Museums Alaska

Christine Carpenter is passionate about museums. As a designer, artist, and project manager, Christine uses her skills to work collaboratively with museums to find opportunities and limit challenges. After completing her MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning & Design, she relocated to Juneau to work with ExhibitAK, an exhibit design firm. She still works with ExhibitAK while also maintaining her own company, Liaise Studio: a planning, design, and art firm. Christine uses design and art as a tool to communicate, distill, and better understand the world around us. In collaboration with the communities she serves, she has designed exhibits, websites, interpretive panels, and master plans all over the state. After more than 10 years of working with museums across Alaska, Christine is in a unique position to serve on the Museums Alaska board: she understands the broad needs and opportunities facing Alaskan museums. She would be honored to continue to support museums in this new capacity.

Cindi’s focus on arts and culture, tourism and economic development, and philanthropy have led to travels throughout Alaska for work and pleasure. She has served as board member and presenter for the Petersburg Arts Council, founding member and first Chair of the Petersburg Community Foundation, past board member and then Director of the Clausen Memorial Museum, was a member of the Alaska Folk Festival board, and as a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Alaska, helping foster connections to our communities, their inhabitants and their stories. Cindi shares her love of the arts across miles, with young and old alike. As a mixed media artist with a special interest in printmaking, she has curated and participated in group and solo exhibitions from Ketchikan to Fairbanks, most recently serving an instructor for Artfest 2023 in Yakutat. Her artwork and photography appears in various Alaskan publications, collections, websites and installations.

Heather Pennington is the Refinery Accounting Manager for the Marathon Refinery in Kenai. Originally from Ohio, Heather recently transferred to Alaska with her husband, Emmett, son Myles and 3 dogs in January 2024. Heather has been a regular advocate for museums, having participated in Museum Advocacy Day hosted by the American Alliance of Museums for 3 years. She’s previously held positions on the Massillon Museum board including Chairwoman and Treasurer over the course of 8 years with the board. Heather has also held board positions with the Canton Ballet and Child, Adolescent Behavioral Health, and the Soroptimist International of the Americans Canton, Ohio Club and Anchorage, Alaska Club. Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in Managerial and Financial Accounting from the University of Findlay and an MBA from Walsh University. Heather currently lives in Kenai with her family and dogs; and is passionate about art, history, and new experiences.

Lauren Johnson serves as the President and Executive Director of the Chugach Heritage Foundation and the President of Chugach Museum.

In her role, she oversees an organization that has awarded over $11 million in scholarships and various cultural programs throughout the year to include the regional Nuuciq Spirit Camp. Lauren has had the honor of supporting Chugach Museum since its incorporation in 2022. The new entity will be located in midtown Anchorage and will open its doors in 2028.

Lauren holds a Bachelor of Business Administrative Management from University of Alaska Anchorage and a Master of Business Administration from Alaska Pacific University. She also serves on the board of other statewide organizations that focuses on the revitalization and celebration of Alaska Native cultures. She has a passion for cultural preservation, education, and promoting community engagement.

Allison Stacy is a jack of all trades. She began at George Washington’s Mount Vernon as a program manager. Introduced to historic preservation, her passion for archaeology grew, leading to fieldwork and specializing in Section 106 compliance. As a strong advocate for ethical practice in cultural heritage management, she became an Investigative Analyst for the Manhattan Antiquities Trafficking Unit. She oversaw provenance research and property law procedures, working on repatriation cases worldwide. Born in Fairbanks, she returned to Alaska as the Curator of Collections & Exhibits at the Seward Museum. Allison’s appointment to the Board would greatly benefit ongoing efforts to further develop ethical practices within Alaskan Museums. She envisions Museums Alaska becoming one of the leaders in ethical museum practice nationwide. Her collaborative approach ensures that all stakeholders, from the directors to volunteers, are considered when developing policy and practice.

Benjamin is a Dena’ina and Sugpiaq who is serving as the Director of Indigenous Research at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Benjamin has worked within the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues/INTERPOL towards the repatriation and rematriation of the material culture of Indigenous peoples across the world. He is currently studying the history and impacts of the boarding schools within Alaska, working with such entities such like: Department of Interior, US Senate, various AK Native Tribes, Museums Alaska etc. He also helps create and maintain materials for the Alaska Native Heritage Center’s Museum. Recently, Benjamin has been instrumental in the return of significant material culture to Alaska from ecclesial repositories taken during the boarding school era that are either endangered artforms or thought to have been extinct. Benjamin’s work with Museums Alaska has been significant to telling this part of Alaska Native history and the return of culture to the communities it was taken from. Benjamin has two master’s degrees from Princeton and has done extensive work within the Princeton Dead Sea Scrolls Society in the linguistics and interpretation of Ancient Near-Eastern manuscripts/material culture. It would be his honor to join the board of directors for Museums Alaska to continue to help tell the stories of the original peoples and to help the next generation thrive.

Kristin O’Lear brings over a decade of nonprofit experience to her role as Executive Director of the Kodiak History Museum and to her work on the Museums Alaska Board.

Kristin has developed expertise in organizational management, advocacy, and collaborative problem-solving during her years in the field. She is motivated to contribute to Museums Alaska’s mission at this crucial moment, when cultural institutions statewide face funding challenges and broader misunderstandings about the value of nonprofits.

Kristin believes Museums Alaska plays a vital role in amplifying advocacy and enhancing public understanding, and is eager to bring her skills and perspective to support this work.

Having completed her first year, of professional leadership in Alaska, Kristin feels prepared to serve the museum community at a higher level, and is enthusiastic about advancing Museums Alaska’s mission and supporting institutions across Alaska.

Dylainie Nathlich is the Executive Director of the Palmer Museum of History and Art, with nearly a decade of experience in collections management, exhibition design, curation, education, and interpretive programming.

She began her work in Alaska in 2021 as an intern with the Alaska State Libraries, Archives, and Museums at the Alaska Museum ofTransportation and Industry. Since then, she has worked with the Talkeetna Historical Society, the Palmer Museum, and other Southcentral Alaska museums. Dylainie has implemented new cataloging systems at multiple institutions and led numerous exhibits and community-focused projects.

She holds a B.A. in Art History and Studio Art and an M.A. in Museum Studies, and serves on the board of the Palmer Community Foundation. Dylainie is passionate about mentoring emerging professionals and supporting the growth of Alaska’s museum community.