Colleen Higginbotham

Colleen Higginbotham has over twenty-five years of customer service management experience and is currently the Deputy Director for Visitor Experience at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA. She is passionate about making visitors feel welcome in museums and facilitating great museum experiences. She created the Museum’s Gallery Host program which blends security and service into a new role in the galleries. These talented staff members provide a warm welcome, assure the safety of the collection, answer visitor questions, and engage visitors in casual conversations about art.

In addition to the gallery host program, she aims to facilitate great visitor experiences through the supervision and training of all front line staff, ongoing analysis of visitor research, oversight of forward facing departments (Visitor Services, Museum Shop, Glass Studio, Special Events, Security, Catering & Restaurant), service on the Museum’s leadership team, and coordination of visitor logistics including seating, signage and traffic flow.

Colleen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Leisure Studies and Tourism Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed the Executive Education Program for Museum Leaders through the Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University. She is an active member of the museum community. She is a Peer Reviewer for the Museum Assessment Program with the American Alliance of Museums, serves on the boards of the Virginia Association of Museums and the Museum Store Association, and is the author of the book Creating Great Visitor Experiences: A Guide for Museum Professionals published with the American Alliance of Museums.