headshot of leslee michelsen in a burgundy blouse in the museum

NMAD Welcomes New Museum Director Leslee Michelsen

We are happy to welcome Dr. Leslee Michelsen as the new Director of the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) at the U.S. Department of State.

Michelsen joins the museum with over 18 years of global museum leadership experience. “It’s been my privilege personally to see American diplomacy in action around the planet, from working on architectural preservation at Ambassadors Fund sites to volunteering with vaccination drives to being the recipient of consular care,” says Michelsen. “A key factor in my approach to museums is that they are in service to society—I think that at the U.S. Department of State, we are in alignment on that core principle, which will allow us to continue to make bright, bold choices at NMAD. I am thrilled to be leading this passionate team, which has built such a strong foundation for the museum. We will continue to build on that work, and to amplify it outward and upward together.”

“We are honored to have Dr. Leslee Michelsen join us at the U.S. Department of State to lead the National Museum of American Diplomacy,” said Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Lee Satterfield. “Her expertise will help us make our goal of sharing the story of American diplomacy with the public a reality.”

Before joining NMAD, Michelsen was the Senior Curator at the Shangri La Museum in Honolulu from 2017 to 2023, where she led the team responsible for the exhibition, interpretation, research, and conservation of the museum’s collections of international historic and contemporary artworks. From 2011-2016, Michelsen served as the Head of Curatorial and Research at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha (Qatar) where she oversaw dozens of internationally focused exhibitions and programs.

She has worked for UNESCO Afghanistan and the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul, as well as on cultural heritage, archaeology, and museum projects on myriad sites stretching from Azerbaijan to Zanzibar. Key stakeholders in these projects included military leaders, governmental ministries, non-governmental organizations, educational and cultural institutions, and a wide network of diverse community leaders.

A specialist of materiality and making from the historic to the contemporary periods in Central and South Asia, she has published and lectured widely on topics ranging from textiles to ceramics to architecture, and has curated the mixed media work of contemporary artists in exhibitions in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Bahrain, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States.

A former lecturer at Dickinson College (Pennsylvania) and Parsons Paris (France), Michelsen also frequently explores contemporary museology and curating. As a part of her commitment to expand the field of opportunities with and for global museum colleagues, she co-created the first graduate program in Museum Studies at the Silk Road University in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). She also serves as a U.S. Board Member and Programs Committee Co-Chair at the International Council of Museums (ICOM-US), and as a peer reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

Dr. Michelsen earned her BA in art history and French at Hood College, and her PhD in art history and archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania.