National Museum of American Jewish History taps new leader

The National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall will soon have a new leader.

The museum’s director, Ivy Barsky, will move into the CEO spot in June.

Current CEO, Michael Rosenzweig, led the museum through the fundraising, construction, and opening of the museum in Philadelphia in November 2010.

“With the museum open and operating efficiently, the time is right for me to move onto my next challenge,” said Rosenzweig.

Barsky says she will pick it up from there.

“We’ve been working on a strategic planning process, really thinking about our vision and future and what that means, and writing a five-year plan for that,” said Barsky. “We’ll be doing a core evaluation of our core exhibition with an outside firm, really looking at how visitors experience the core exhibition and how we can help enhance that experience.”

Barsky’s background is in both art and history — at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and New York’s P.S. 1 gallery, as well as at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. She says art may play a role at the museum to help tell the story of the American Jewish experience.