Nancy Yao, who was chosen by the Smithsonian Institution last March to be the founding director of the future American Women’s History Museum (AWHM), stepped down from his post, citing family issues.
A Smithsonian spokesperson did not share additional details, but a LinkedIn position by Yao regarding his decision mentions his father’s poor health and the need to care for his two teenage sons, which would make it “impossible for me to give the project the attention it deserves while being there for my family “.
Yao had previously held the position of director of the Chinese of America Museum (Moca) in New York. Last March, she was selected to be the first dedicated director of AWHM, a new institution in Washington, D.C., which was officially created by the US Congress in 2020 and should take shape on a site yet to be determined on or near the National Mall. Earlier this year, the Smithsonian revealed that it had already raised over $55 million towards the project. The museum, which is expected to take more than a decade to develop, was originally estimated cost about $375 million in all.
“The Smithsonian will immediately begin a new search for a director,” a Smithsonian spokesperson said, adding that the hope is that a new director will be selected “within six months.” In the meantime, Melanie Adams, director of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, will serve as acting director and the current acting director of the American Women’s History Museum, Lisa Sasaki, will take on a new role at the institution. .
Yao’s selection by the Smithsonian to lead AWHM was not without complications. During her tenure at Moca, where she helped plan a $118 million expansion project designed by Maya Lin which will more than quadruple the museum’s footprint – she has been criticized for the apparent complicity of board co-chairman Jonathan Chu in a plan (currently underway) to replace a jail in the neighborhood Manhattan Chinese by an even larger facility dubbed the “Skyscraper Prison”. by his opponents. In 2021, the museum canceled an exhibition about the influential Asian-American artist collective Godzilla, after 19 of its members pulled out in protest at Moca’s perceived support for the “skyscraper prison” project.
Shortly after his appointment The Washington Post reported on Yao’s handling of three wrongful termination lawsuits filed by former Moca employees who claimed they were fired for reporting sexual harassment. The Smithsonian has hired an outside firm to look into these allegations, delaying Yao’s planned start date to June.
Yao also led efforts in Moca to recover and preserve damaged artifacts in a major fire in January 2020 who destroyed a building in Chinatown where the museum stored items from its collection.
The AWHM is one of two new Smithsonian museums in advanced planning for Washington, DC. The other, the National Museum of the Latin American, selected former HistoryMiami Museum director Jorge Zamanillo as founding director.
