TORONTO, June 27, 2022 - Josh Basseches, Director & CEO of ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) is pleased to announce the appointment of Valerie Huaco as Deputy Director for Collections & Research and Chief Innovation Officer.
“Valerie is a highly accomplished leader in the museum sector,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “Her strong background in collections development and stewardship, coupled with her leadership and museum-based management experience, will be invaluable for further developing our collections and guiding innovative curatorial practice. Valerie also brings strong experience integrating the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion at a pivotal time in ROM’s ongoing transformation as a contemporary museum that reflects the rich diversity of our communities.”
As Deputy Director for Collections & Research, Huaco is responsible for the leadership, strategic vision, and financial oversight of ROM’s Curatorial and Collections division. She will also oversee the Library and Conservation areas as well as the Museum’s scholarly publishing activities. In her role as Chief Innovation Officer, Huaco will bring creative and transdisciplinary approaches to ROM’s singular strengths across art, culture, and nature. Reporting to the Director & CEO, and as a senior member of the executive leadership team, Huaco will contribute to the Museum’s strategic planning.
“I am thrilled to join the ROM’s talented staff in sharing stories of the natural world and human expression throughout time on earth,” says Valerie Huaco. “This is such an exciting time to join the Museum, as it leads a broad cultural re-emergence. I look forward to supporting access to collections and partnering with community to continue development of Canada’s premier collection."
Valerie comes to ROM from Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), where she began as a conservator and rose to the position of Deputy Director & Chief Content Officer. Like ROM, Oakland Museum is one of the few museums in North America with a collection spanning art, culture, and nature. An accomplished executive with more than a decade of experience overseeing the curatorial and collections teams at OMCA, Valerie has a successful track record leading innovative curatorial practice, and a deep background in collection management. Among her accomplishments at OMCA, she set the priorities for an extensive collection spanning three campuses, oversaw a roster of changing exhibitions responsive to contemporary social issues, initiated an Indigenous-first repatriation and access program, and reimagined the Museum’s acquisition process to prioritize traditionally marginalized groups.
Huaco has a deep knowledge and understanding of Indigenous issues based on lived experience and is herself of Quechua, Hispanic, and European descent. She is affiliated with the Indigenous Peoples Museum Network, is on the board of the Oakland Art Murmur, and has served on committees for the American Alliance of Museums and the Western Museums Association.
Valerie Huaco was selected for the role following an extensive international recruitment process. She began in her new position at ROM on June 1, 2022.
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ABOUT ROM
Opened in 1914, Royal Ontario Museum showcases art, culture and nature from around the world and across the ages. Among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive museum is home to a world-class collection of 13 million art objects and natural history specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. As the country’s preeminent field research institute and an international leader in new and original findings, ROM plays a vital role in advancing our understanding of the artistic, cultural and natural world. Combining its original heritage architecture with the contemporary Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, ROM serves as a national landmark, and a dynamic cultural destination in the heart of Toronto for all to enjoy.