Hospitality | Tourism 2024: CHRISTY S. COLEMAN

As head of the foundation administering two museums of early American history, Coleman is at the forefront of educators weaving a nuanced and inclusive story of American history.

She is the first woman and the first person of color to serve as executive director of the state agency that operates Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

Coleman is hosting the Jamestown Settlement’s Director’s Series, now in its third year, leading conversations with figures such as Ruth E. Carter, a two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer. Other guests in the series include historians Julian Zelizer and Edward L. Ayers.

With more than 30 years of experience in museum work, Coleman received the 2023 David McCullough Prize for Excellence in American Public History for her work furthering the public’s understanding of American history.

Before joining the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, she was CEO of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, and before that, president and CEO of one of its predecessors, the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar.

Coleman earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in museum studies from Hampton University.