Sarah Stierch, Museums and Institutions

Hi, I'm Sarah Stierch. Welcome to my profile!

Sarah Stierch's Bio:

Sarah Stierch earned her MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University ('12) and a BA in Native American Studies from Indiana University ('09). For the 2014 Spring semester, Stierch is also serving as a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley Center for New Media, as the first Susan B. Miller Fellow. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Fort Ross Conservancy and is on the Advisory Board for the Ada Initiative. Stierch's passion lies in community organizing, research, open culture & knowledge outreach. She has layered these interests by exploring how institutions can work with open sharing technology, such as Wikipedia and other open source tools, to broaden public awareness and interest in their collections or educational holdings. She is also classically trained as a curator in her love for deep research, bringing out unique stories to be told about her subjects, and sharing it with the public. She has worked with organizations including the Smithsonian Institution, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Deutschland, Open Knowledge Foundation, World Digital Library, OCLC, Colonial Williamsburg, American Association of Museums, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, and others. Her work has been featured in The Independent (UK), Gawker, Smithsonian, Slate, the CBC, and the Huffington Post. She has presented her work on the subjects of open culture and gender theory & outreach at conferences such as the Open Knowledge Festival, American Association of Museums, Museum Computer Network, Wikimania, and others. Stierch is a member of the American Alliance of Museums, National Council on Public History, and California Association of Museums. She lives in Northern California.

Sarah Stierch's Experience:

Community Coordinator at Wikimedia Foundation
April 2013 - January 2014
Launched pilot program for Wikimedia Foundation's Program Evaluation and Design team. Developed and maintained methods for online and social media communication between staff and volunteers. Worked with over 100 international staff and volunteers to develop program evaluation tools, methods, and structures for open source projects. Planned and implemented two evaluation events in Hong Kong and Budapest. Co-developed an online evaluation portal and co-wrote seven major evaluations.
Workshop Facilitator at University of Oregon
2013 - 2014
Planned and facilitated two days of workshops and hands on editing activities related to women's history and Wikipedia. Activities included: lecturing about how Wikipedia works, hands on edit-a-thon, and mentoring women museum studies and computer science students. This event has taken place consecutively in 2013 and 2014.
Wikipedian in Residence at Library of Congress
January 2013 - December 2013
Facilitated the crowdsourcing of over 150 volunteers working in over 200 languages to improve history coverage on Wikipedia. Evaluated program monthly and delivered a final evaluative report. Presented to stakeholders and major donors at the Library of Congress.
Community Coordinator at Open Knowledge Foundation
2012 - 2013
Created pilot program for US Open GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums). Handled all social media promotion. Planned and facilitated first US OpenGLAM workshop hosted by the University of California, Berkeley. It brought leaders from over 20 cultural institutions for a two-day seminar about open culture, licensing, and digital humanities. Launch also included grantwriting for future Open Knowledge Foundation initiatives.
Visiting Lecturer at Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
2013 - 2013
Keynoted the Berlin Wikipedia Academy, discussing feminist design theory and how it is critical to further the viewership and usership of Wikipedia. Keynote was followed by a day additional lectures, facilitated workshops and breakout sessions with the public in order to develop a "gender strategy plan" for Wikimedia Deutschland aimed at engaging more women to contribute to open source projects.
Event Organizer at University of Oregon
2013 - 2013
Planned and facilitated a culture hack for the Fembot Collective, a women's academic organization based at the University of Oregon. Academics from over 15 institutions participated. It featured hands on activities, writing sprints, visual art, design, research, coding, and discussion. Outcomes include the 2014 Ada Journal issue "Hacking the Binary".
Visiting Fellow at Wikimedia Foundation
2012 - 2013
Organized the development of programs and open-source online help systems devoted to engaging more women to contribute to Wikipedia. Created and maintained social media campaign. Worked with international community to develop programs, including the internationally recognized WikiWomen's History Month.
Event Consultant at The Ada Initiative
2012 - 2012
Co-wrote grant proposal and handled all social activity and a portion of local logistics for AdaCamp DC. The conference brought together over 100 international women and men to engage around the topic of women in technology.
Researcher at American Alliance of Museums
2012 - 2012
Co-researched, wrote, and designed the inaugural TrendsWatch 2012 with Elizabeth Merritt, Founding Director of the Center for the Future of Museums.
Special Event Coordinator at Wikimedia District of Columbia
2012 - 2012
Co-planned and facilitated in partnership with Wiki Strategies. Co-wrote grant application for funding GLAMcamp DC, which was held at the National Archives and Records Administration. Two-day workshop brought together 30 volunteers from four countries for program development and skill building around open source/open culture work in the culture sector.
Curatorial Assistant at National Museum of African American History and Culture
2011 - 2012
Provided curatorial research and writing services for the museums inaugural permanent exhibition of modern and contemporary art.
Wikipedian in Residence at Smithsonian Institution Archives
2011 - 2011
Developed programs and a crowdsourcing project to improve coverage about Smithsonian and women's history on Wikipedia. Planned and facilitated in-house Wikipedia events for staff and volunteers. Developed copyright policies for "no known copyright," materials for digitization and public use.
Wikipedian in Residence at Archives of American Art
2011 - 2011
Served as first Wikipedian in Residence at the Smithsonian Institution, working at the Archives of American Art. Worked with digitization and archives staff to implement an on-Wikipedia, crowdsourced project to improve coverage about American art history. Researched and wrote content utilizing archival collections. Hosted a Wikipedia event at the Archives bringing staff and volunteers together to contribute to the website using the archives. Worked with staff to release over 250 rare images of American artists to Wikimedia Commons. Lectured to staff about open culture.
Collections Assistant at Eiteljorg Museum of Western and Native American Art
2009 - 2010
Photographed and documented newly acquired collections, including the largest collection ever gifted to the Eiteljorg, the Helen Cox Kersting Collection of Southwestern Art. Redesigned, rehoused, and researched two complete sets of Edward S. Curtis' North American Indian. Co-curated the ongoing Curtis exhibition with Assistant Curator of Native American Art. Assisted in-house and consulting conservators with collections survey of Native American artifacts, including the data input and maintenance of object conservation status. Installed, de-installed, packed and shipped numerous exhibitions, including the 2009 Native American Fellowship for Native American Fine Art.
Curatorial Assistant at National Museum of the American Indian
2010 - 2010
Research and writing for the Infinity of Nations permanent exhibit. Transcribed interviews with specialists related to over 700 objects.
Gallery Director at Domont Studio Gallery
2008 - 2010
Served as Gallery Director of Indianapolis contemporary art gallery. Curated over 20 exhibitions. Managed a staff of three. Handled public relations, all sales and client relationships, packaging and shipping of works, exhibition design, and collection management.
Research Director at B.J. Bischoff Performance Improvement Consulting
January 2014
Part-time Research Director focusing on grantwriting and development programming for various Northern California non-profits.
Director at Sarah Stierch Consulting
March 2011
Creative cultural consulting for your organization
Susan B. Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley
January 2014
Served as the first Susan B. Miller Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, Center for New Media, from January until May 2014. Named after new media and video art curator, Susan B. Miller. Created the first biennale art contest and festival focused around carillon music and art inspired by it. Hosted the first Wikipedia edit-a-thon on campus, attracting press coverage from the East Bay Express. Lectured to numerous classrooms on campus, including art history, women's history, and ethnic studies departments.

Sarah Stierch's Education:

The George Washington University
2010 – 2012
MA
Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
2007 – 2009
BA
Concentration: Native American Studies, Museum Studies

Sarah Stierch's Interests & Activities:

Museums, social media, fundraising, non-profits, music, contemporary art

Sarah Stierch

Museumist | Museums and Institutions

Hi, I'm Sarah Stierch. Welcome to my profile!

Sarah Stierch's Bio:

Sarah Stierch's Experience:

Community Coordinator at Wikimedia Foundation

Workshop Facilitator at University of Oregon

Wikipedian in Residence at Library of Congress

Community Coordinator at Open Knowledge Foundation

Visiting Lecturer at Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.

Event Organizer at University of Oregon

Visiting Fellow at Wikimedia Foundation

Event Consultant at The Ada Initiative

Researcher at American Alliance of Museums

Special Event Coordinator at Wikimedia District of Columbia

Curatorial Assistant at National Museum of African American History and Culture

Wikipedian in Residence at Smithsonian Institution Archives

Wikipedian in Residence at Archives of American Art

Collections Assistant at Eiteljorg Museum of Western and Native American Art

Curatorial Assistant at National Museum of the American Indian

Gallery Director at Domont Studio Gallery

Research Director at B.J. Bischoff Performance Improvement Consulting

Director at Sarah Stierch Consulting

Susan B. Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley

Sarah Stierch's Education:

The George Washington University

Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis

Sarah Stierch's Interests & Activities: