Museum Educator of the Year Award

Museum educators are the primary contact between museums and the K-12 school audience, and provide critical outreach within the museum community that support Virginia's educational goals, professional development for educators, and students' connections to our history and heritage. The co-sponsors of this award have created it in order to recognize outstanding achievement in museum education by an individual working on behalf of their organization to create exceptional experiences for school-aged visitors.

Eligibility

Any museum educator who works directly with school-aged audiences or teachers is eligible to receive this award, including front-line staff and department directors responsible for developing and implementing educational programs. Individuals must be nominated by their direct education supervisor or museum director. Self-nominations are not permitted.

Nomination Process & Criteria

In order to nominate a museum educator, please complete the nomination form below. A successful nominee will meet the following criteria to demonstrate their commitment and dedication to the education space: 

• Have more than 5 years of experience in museum education, across one or multiple institutions 
• Have significant experience developing and creating innovative educational programs for school-aged visitors
• Demonstrate a mastery of delivering excellent programming to school groups

*Nominations will be accepted until Friday, February 12th, 2027*

Decision Process

The Virginia Association of Museums Leadership Development Committee will receive nominations and complete a preliminary review, narrowing the nominees to no more than 3 finalists. The Virginia Department of Education will then review the finalists and make the final selection. The nominator of the winning educator will receive notification prior to the award being given at the 2027 Annual Conference.

The recipient of the Museum Educator award will receive:

• A physical commemorative award
• Public recognition at the 2027 VAM Annual Conference
• Recognition on the VAM website and in official VAM communication, including our newsletter and social media

NOMINATION FORM

Our 2026 Award Honoree

In 2026, this award was given to Felicia Abrams, School Programs Manager at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. Congratulations, Felicia!