Tsione Wolde-Michael
Tsione Wolde-Michael is the Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH). Wolde-Michael’s extensive work in the field of arts and public humanities has focused on developing innovative approaches to community engagement, collections management, cultural heritage, and exhibitions. She served as founding Director for the Center for Restorative History at the National Museum of American History – the Smithsonian’s first center devoted exclusively to community-based redress. Wolde-Michael started her Smithsonian career in 2011 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she worked to create inaugural exhibitions including the landmark Slavery and Freedom exhibition. Her international projects in Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, and the United Kingdom have focused on collaborating with local art and history museums to reinterpret colonial collections. Her experience extends to digital media and online exhibitions, curating visual art, writing for academic publications, teaching, and lecturing around the country. She holds a B.A. in Women and Gender Studies from Macalester College and an M.A. in History from Harvard University.