14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

As Secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III oversees twenty-one museums, twenty-one libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers and several education units and centers. He has held various positions at the Smithsonian Institution, including the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He also served as the curator of history for the California African American Museum in Los Angeles.

A widely published author, Bunch has written on topics ranging from the Black military experience, the American presidency and African American History in California, diversity in museum management and the impact of funding and politics on American museums. He has held numerous teaching positions at universities across the country and has served on the advisory boards of the American Association of Museums and the American Association for State and Local History.

Among his many awards, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House in 2002 and reappointed by President Barack Obama in 2010. In 2019, he was awarded the Freedom Medal, one of the Four Freedom Awards from the Roosevelt Institute, for his contribution to American culture as a historian and storyteller. In 2021, Bunch received France’s highest award, The Legion of Honor.
 

Deputy Under Secretary for Special Projects at the Smithsonian Institution

Lisa Sasaki is the Deputy Under Secretary for Special Projects at the Smithsonian Institution, where she provides leadership for the institution in America’s semiquincentennial celebration and in efforts that maximize the institution’s impact online and in communities across the country.

Previously, she served as the interim director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, which advances the understanding of women’s contributions to various fields throughout history that have influenced the direction of the United States. She also served as the director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, where she provided vision, leadership and support for Asian American and Pacific Islander initiatives across the institution.

Sasaki has provided further service to the museum field as president of the Western Museums Association’s Board of Directors, as a member of the American Alliance of Museums’ Facing Change working group, the Center for the Future of Museums’ Horizon Initiative steering committee, and as an advisory council member of the Council of Jewish American Museums.