Smithsonian appoints woman to top post at American History Museum

Ms. Hartig, 54, spent seven years at the San Francisco-based Historical Society, where she oversaw more than 20 exhibitions and worked with hundreds of state and local agencies and nonprofit organizations. The Museum of American History, which opened in 1964, is a much larger facility with 262 employees and a budget of $50 million, compared to the California Historical Society’s 30 employees and $5 million budget.

“There’s a Native American proverb that says, ‘At some point you’re going to hit a big ditch.’ Take a leap, because it’s not as wide as you think,” Hartig said in an interview. “This is a huge step forward, and I am extremely honored that the Smithsonian Institution has placed their trust in me.”

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A lifelong Californian who “was a public school girl all the way from kindergarten to Ph.D.,” Hartig said the museum is in the final stages of a multi-year renovation that includes new galleries focused on American innovation, democracy and entertainment. will take over. She will start working on February 18th and she will earn $300,000 a year.

“Close-off pitcher” is how Hartig describes his role in completing a long-standing project. “How I approach this is by deeply understanding the work that has been done, situating it, and thinking about how best to adjust,” she said.

Hartig said she is eager to work on the recently announced Molina Family Latino Gallery, a joint project with the Smithsonian Latino Center. She said her Latinx history is critical to her work in California, adding, “It’s a real gift to be able to carry on that partnership.”

Prior to joining the California Historical Society, Mr. Hartig served as Western Region Director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where he founded the Modernism and Recent Past Initiative. Previously, he was a history professor and municipal preservation planner at La Sierra University in Riverside, California.

Mr. Hartig also serves on the California Historic Resources Commission and was named California Preservationist of the Year in 2011. She received her master’s degree in history from the University of California, Riverside and her Ph.D.