Curriculum Vitae

 

  • Winter 2023-present Professor, Museum and Cultural Management Centennial College

    Developed instructional materials for and taught Writing for Exhibitions course in an online learning environment;

    • Recognized for student-focused learning design and an emphasis on authentic learning opportunities for a cohort of emerging museum professionals.

    Spring 2021-present Senior Curator, Learning and Interpretation Hamilton Civic Museums

    A member of Heritage Resource Management department's senior leadership team, leading organizational change and positioning Hamilton's Civic Museums as places of dialogue, connection and inclusion;

    • Manage and lead a city-wide interpretive planning process, to inform in-person and digital visitor experiences across the City;

    • Build partnerships with diverse organizations across Hamilton;

    • Member of digital transformation team, responsible for launching new website and social media channels for Hamilton Civic Museums in 2021;

    • Design virtual and in-person learning experiences and professional development modules for more than 80 staff members;

    • Cultivate and nurture community and stakeholder partnerships;

    • Train, mentor and supervise a team of union and non-union staff members, including the Curator, Indigenous Culture and Heritage, the Civic Curator and social media coordinators.

    2017 - present Executive, Board of Directors Workers Arts and Heritage Centre

    A member of WAHC's management board, I have served as the Board Secretary for five years. I am a part of the four person executive committee that successfully managed a small, non-profit arts organization through the pandemic.

    • Served on a number of hiring committees as well as the collective bargaining negotiation team;

    • Co-chair of exhibits sub-committee;

    • Support fundraising and events.

    2017-2020 Collections Management Consultant Fort Erie Museum Services

    Supported a major collections and archives re-organization project, including reconciling records, standardizing terminology and optimizing the collections database.

    2016-2021 Interpretive Services Coordinator Halton Region Heritage Services

    Responsible for leading the Region-wide heritage network and managing the organization's public-facing products and projects to provide access to local heritage through Heritage Services' innovative service delivery model.

    • Build relationships across the community, fostering engagement, providing advisory services and building organizational capacity among more than 60 institutions in the local GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) sector;

    • Develop, prototype and evaluate programming and region-wide interpretive strategies, including the award winning Partners in Time school program;

    • Plan, design and curate more than a dozen community-based exhibitions and numerous activations at sites across Halton Region;

    • Oversee departmental budget, craft reports and communications for Regional Council and project manage strategic planning for Heritage Services.

    2017-present Course Director, Ontario Museum Association Certificate in Museum Studies Program

    Director for both the Education Programs and Exhibit Planning and Design Courses in the OMA's Certificate in Museum Studies program

    • Teach cohorts of 20-25 emerging museum professionals in-person courses from 2017-2019;

    • Re-designed courses for virtual delivery in 2020, delivered online courses from 2020-present;

    • Received excellent teaching reviews, recognized for student-focused learning strategies and innovative practices.

    2012-2016 Visitor Services Coordinator St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre

    As the coordinator for the Visitor Services branch of the Museum, I supervised up to 11 unionized staff members along with a large group of active volunteers and students, while I managed a wide variety of projects across the public facing functions of the museum. 

    • Lead the creation and delivery of innovative, curriculum-based school programs and special events, including the award-winning aMUSE pop-up museum series;

    • Managed all elements of the customer experience across the Museum and Welland Canals Centre;

    • Lead the creation and delivery of innovative programs and special events, including the award-winning aMUSE pop-up museum series;

    • Developed and managed departmental budget;

    • Actively pursued community partnerships and coordinated diverse outreach initiatives.

    2010-2012 Fort Erie Museum Services Curator

    As the Curator, Marketing, Programming and Exhibitions, my responsibilities included developing and implementing public products and experiences, curating outreach and in-house exhibitions, managing a large group of museum volunteers and coordinating Museum Services' participation in a wide variety of community events.

    • Developed and delivered a new slate of public and curriculum-based education programs for students, adults and community groups across the municipality’s four museum sites;

    • Managed successful events, community outreach and marketing activities.

    2008-2009 Education & Community Relations Coordinator Museum of Ontario Archaeology/University of Western Ontario

    Engaged stakeholders and publics, including Indigenous communities, school boards and community groups to produce successful, culturally sensitive programs, events and exhibitions. 

    • Successfully expanded the Museum’s education and public programs, more than doubling participation and revenue over the previous year, allowing the contract position to become a regular, full time job.

  • Leadership and Administration for History Organizations, American Association for State and Local History, 2021.

    Certificate, Learning Experience Design, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, 2020

    Instructional Design, Adult Learning Certificate Program Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, 2018

    Participant, Museum Camp, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, 2017

    Fellow, NextGen Program, Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University, 2015

    Master of Science, Adolescent Education D'Youville College, Buffalo, New York, 2009

    Master of Museum Studies, University of Toronto, 2008

    Honours Bachelor of Arts, History and Political Science, McMaster University, 2006

  • Ontario College of Teachers, Certified Teacher, OCT Number 593749 Intermediate and Senior History, Business

    University of the State of New York, Education Department, Public School Teacher Certificate (Initial), Social Studies, 7-12

  • Education and Interpretation Steering Committee Member, American Association for State and Local History, fall 2021-present

    Conference Program Committee Member, American Association for State and Local History, Buffalo 2022

    Ontario Museum Professionals Group, Co-founder of a support and peer-to-peer learning network for museum workers throughout Ontario. 2020-present

    Sessional Instructional Assistant, Faculty of Information, U of T Instructional assistant for INF3900 - The Emerging Professional, fall 2020.

    Co-Chair, Regional Museum Network Group, Ontario Museum Association, 2019-2022, served as a member of the steering committee from 2018-present

    Guest Lecturer, Museum and Information Studies Courses at the University of Toronto, 2018-present

  • Stories of Migration and Belonging, (digital exhibition), hamiltoncivicmuseums.ca, 2021-present

    Leonard, M. (2023, December) Museums and Historic Sites (Taylor’s Version), American Association for State and Local History Blog. https://www.aaslh.org/museums-taylors-version/

    Leonard, M. (2021) Partners in Time: A Model for Meaningful Museum-School Collaboration History News , 76(2).

    Building Animation Project, Mattamy National Cycling Centre, Town of Milton, Ontario, 2018-2020

    Revitalization of Remembrance Hall, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 136, Milton, Ontario, 2017-2020

    Leonard, M. (2019, March 6). Museums and Community Partnerships. Active History. http://activehistory.ca/2019/03/museums-and-community- partnerships/

    Found in Collection: Mining Museum Collections to Inform Historical Understanding. Online exhibition for Active History, https://activehistory.ca/2017/10/found-in- collections-mining-community-museum-collections-to-inform-historical- understanding/

    Oakville: 190 Years in the Making, Oakville Historical Society, Oakville, Ontario, 2017-present

    Leonard, M. (2016, October 25). Pop-up Museums as a Vehicle for Community Building, Active History. https://activehistory.ca/tag/amuse/

    Leading the Way: Pioneering Women of St. Catharines, St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario, 2016-17

    Doing Our Bit: World War One From St. Catharines to the Western Front, St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario, 2014-2018

    History In Site, In The Soil Arts Festival, Installation in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario, April, 2016

    Leonard, M (2013) Community ‘InReach’: Adapting Principles from the Ecomuseum Model to deliver Accessible Programming in a Rural Community, Proceedings of the Ontario Museum Association’s Tenth Colloquium on Learning in Museums, October, 2012.

  • Mistakes Happen…Let’s Change How We Talk About Them, Museums Canada Summit, Halifax, NS, 2023.

    How it Started, How it’s Going - Virtual Programs, American Association for State and Local History, Buffalo, NY, 2022.

    The View from the Middle: Mid-Career Museum Professionals, Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference, Online, 2020

    Ten Ways to Build a Network of Teacher Advocates, Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference, Brantford, 2019

    Collaborative Visitor Experience Design Workshop, American Association for State and Local History Annual Conference Philadelphia, PA, 2019

    Various Other Duties: Adventures in Small Museum Management (panel), ALTCON, THE MUSEUM, Kitchener-Waterloo, 2019

    Hallway History: A New Model for School-Museum Partnerships, Halton Heritage Exchange, Milton, Ontario, 2019

    Heritage in the Hallways: Make Your Students Partners in Time, Ontario History and Social Studies Teachers Association Conference, Toronto, 2018

    Collaborative Teaching for Collaborative Learning, Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference, Toronto, 2018

    Case Studies in Working Through Non-Traditional Exhibits, Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference, Kingston, 2017

    Flaunt It! Creating Engaging and Relevant Visitor Experiences, Halton Heritage Exchange, Royal Botanical Gardens, Ontario, 2017

    aMUSE: the Pop-Up Museum Experiment, Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference, Alliston, 2014

  • 2018 Ontario Museum Association Award of Excellence Winner - Programs: Partners in Time

    2016 Ontario Museum Association Award of Excellence Honourable Mention - Programs: The Travelling Museum

    2014 Ontario Museum Association Award of Excellence Winner - Community Engagement: aMUSE: a pop-up museum experience