Meet SEMC’s New Council Directors

Brigette Janea Jones

Director of Equitable Partnerships, Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery, Nashville, Tennessee

Brigette Janea Jones is the Director of Equitable Partnerships for Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery in Nashville, Tennessee and founder of Bridge Builders Historical Consulting, LLC. Her work includes the preservation and interpretation of the vast social histories of the many diverse cultures that inhabit the state of Tennessee, including but not limited to, African American history, Latino history, and Middle Eastern history, as well as fostering the types of partnerships with community institutions that will aid in the enhancement of their quality of life. Ms. Jones is a Memphis native and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Historically Black, Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2019, she gained certification through the National Association of Interpretation and the Smithsonian Institute: National Museum of African American History and Culture to become an official interpreter of the African American experience. Most recently, she served as Curator of Social History for the Tennessee State Museum and Director of African American Studies for the Belle Meade Plantation Museum in Nashville, where her academic focus was primarily on the lasting legacy of American chattel enslavement on Tennesseans and surrounding areas.

As of 2019, Ms. Jones has established Bridge Builders Historical Consulting, LLC, where she provides historical research assistance and interpretive design consulting for museum sectors and other institutions with a focus on cultural remembrance. She also conducts public and keynote speaking engagements focusing on topics such as the history and legacy of Southern race

relations. The final component of her work is in the realm of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion where she offers various trainings and workshops for numerous companies such as Tennessee Department of Transportation, Reebok Inc., the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), Tommy Hilfiger Inc., Pyer Moss, and Tennessee State Parks to improve cultural competence and social awareness within the workplace. Her training focuses on addressing implicit and unconscious bias from a historical perspective in efforts of allowing trainee(s) to understand the root of community bias and how it has been fostered, with specific focus on the American South.

Her work has been recognized by the Smithsonian Institute, NPR, The Tennessean, Conde Nast Traveler, Nashville Scene, The Commercial Appeal, and Garden and Gun Magazine where she was named one of the 2019 “30 Southern Heroes.”

Pamela D.C. Junior

Director, Two Mississippi Museums, Mississippi Department of Archives & History, Jackson, Mississippi

Motivational speaker, historian, and women’s activist, Pamela D.C. Junior is the director of the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, Mississippi. As former manager of Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, Pamela fought passionately and tirelessly to make the museum a first-class place of interpretation, bringing the museum from financial struggles to features across the nation, most notably, one of CNN’s “50 States, 50 Spots.” After seventeen years of service at Smith Robertson Museum, Pamela became the inaugural director of the first state-sponsored civil rights museum in the nation, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where she welcomed more than 250,000 visitors in her first year. July of 2019, Pamela was promoted to director of the Two Mississippi Museums where she continues her tireless work to share the stories of Mississippi with audiences all over the world. Pamela believes the stories told in the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, whether simple or complex should be used as an educational tool for students. In her words, “If we teach children about the history of Mississippi—sharing the events that give us hope and bring us despair, where we see examples of people who never gave up, whose strength and tenacity can now give us hope and inspire us all to see others as we see ourselves— you will secure a twinkle in the eyes of many that will last a lifetime.”

Pamela has been honored over the years for her professional work as well as her community work. In 2015, she was awarded the Margaret Walker Center’s coveted For My People Award, in 2018 she was selected as Visit Jackson’s Hometown Hero and the Magnolia Bar Association’s Harriet Tubman Award. In 2019 she was honored with the Association of African American Museums Leadership Award for her work in the museum field. In 2021, Pamela received the Leontyne Price Award from Who’s Who of Mississippi Women.

Pamela continues to serve her community with her appointments as board member for Visit Jackson, advisory board member for the Mississippi Book Festival and most recently, a member of the International Women’s Forum. She is also a member of Women for Progress of Mississippi, where she is a champion for women’s rights. As a woman who knows that she did not get to this position without standing on the shoulders of many women whose vision for African Americans lives on today, she gives homage to the great women of her life such as her grandmother, mother, and mentors.

Pamela is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and earned a B.S. in Education, with a minor in Special Education from Jackson State University.

Caitlin (Katy) Menne

Curator of Education, North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport, Southport, North Carolina

Katy Menne earned her BA in History and master’s in teaching Secondary Social Studies at the University of South Carolina. Since 2011 she has been teaching in formal and informal settings and joined the staff at NC Maritime Museum at Southport in 2018 as the Curator of Education where she has started inclusion and diversity initiatives, spearheaded the museum becoming the first Certified Autism Center in the state of North Carolina, and has gained the distinction of Certified Educator by National Geographic. Menne was the 2020 recipient of Southeastern Museum Conference’s Emerging Museum Professional Award. In addition to her job duties at the museum, she is the Chairperson for Brunswick County Local Interagency Coordinating Council; on the Environmental Educators of North Carolina’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Action Team; is the Program Coordinator for Southeastern Museum Conference’s Equity and Inclusion Action Team; is the Assistant Communications Chair and sits on several committees for North Carolina Museums Council; serves on the Planning Committee for Able Buddies, Special Needs Community of Pender and Onslow County; and is an active member of the Board of Young Professions for Community in Schools of the Cape Fear. Ahmad Ward

Executive Director, Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, Hilton Head, South Carolina

Ahmad Ward is the Executive Director for the Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park located on Hilton Head Island, SC. The mission of the Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park is to preserve, promote and honor Historic Mitchelville, the first self governed town of formerly enslaved people in the United States. Ward is responsible for implementing the Mitchelville master plan that will recreate this historic town as an interpretative site. The Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park will convey this important story of freedom and citizenship to visitors from around the country. Prior to this position, Ward spent fifteen years leading the Education Department at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham Alabama. It is there where he honed his expertise in telling the story of civil and human rights in America, with a focus on historic analysis and application to current social justice issues. With Masters-level training and years of experience in exhibition design, he brings a strong understanding of storytelling and the importance of technology in interpretation. He has been responsible for creating programming partnerships with local schools, universities and organizations; teacher and student resources; written articles, blogs and essays for local, national and international

platforms as well as the development of public programming for community-at-large in the areas of civil and human rights movements, multiculturalism and contemporary human rights issues. Ward is a native of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He received a BA in Art from Elizabeth City State University and a MA in Museum Studies from Hampton University. He is a Board member of the Association of African American Museums, a member of Rotary of Hilton Head Island Club and the Southeastern Museums Conference Jekyll Island Management Institute (JIMI) Selection Board. He is a former member of the Smithsonian Affiliates Advisory Board. His hobbies include drawing, watching sports, cooking, sleep (when possible) and fantasy football. He and his wife, Dafina, have two brilliant daughters, Masani Ashiya and Aminah Elon.

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