Having a network of colleagues outside of their immediate co-workers was crucial when disaster struck. The members of the Museum Educators of Puget Sound have leaned into this community for support, resources, and information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Join them for open conversation on what they learned about their identity as museum educators, how they supported each other during different phases of the pandemic, and how to decide what educators can carry forward. PRESENTERS: Sondra Snyder, Director of Education, Museum of History & Industry Emily Turner, K-12 & Youth Programs Coordinator, Museum of History & Industry Nicole Frymier, Former Treasurer of the Museum Educators of Puget Sound Kate Sorensen, Youth & Children’s Programs Manager, Bellevue Botanical Garden Society

1. Building Community:
Western Museums Association Annual
Meeting
Friday, October 7th, 2022

2. Museum Educators of
Puget Sound (MEPS)
• As Western Washington's primary professional
organization for museum educators, MEPS:
 Encompasses a geographic area including Seattle,
Bellevue, Tacoma, east Kitsap County, and
communities of the Puget Sound region
 Organizes regular meetings, networking
opportunities, and professional development
 Serves as a forum to share and discuss current
initiatives, ideas, and needs of the professional
community

3. Session Objectives
 Open conversation on our identity as museum educators
 Save different ways this community of practice supported each other during different phases
of the pandemic
 Consider how to decide what we as Educators can carry forward
The MEPS model is an example of innovative engagement – a creative model where museum
professionals can foster ongoing conversations, inspire forward-thinking ideas by taking
agency in their professional development, by engaging with local communities of practice,
and responsively supporting each other and promoting current and relevant learning.
By empowering ourselves and our local peers, we as professionals support a more
responsive and collaborative field, which then better serves our larger communities

4. Panel Members
Emily Turner
she/her
K12 & Youth
Programs
Coordinator,
Museum of
History &
Industry
MEPS Officer
O’FUn
Kate Sorensen
she/her
Youth & Children’s
Program Manager,
Bellevue Botanical
Garden
MEPS Member
Sondra
Snyder
she/her
Director of
Education,
Museum of
History &
Industry
Former MEPS
President
Nicole
Frymier
she/her
Former MEPS
Treasurer

5. Break-out group conversations

6. Reflection Question

7. Thank you!
www.psmuseums.org
museumeducators@gmail.com