Stephen Kidd
Executive Director
(he/him)
Stephen Kidd is the executive director of the National Humanities Alliance. Before joining NHA, he was director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Smithsonian Institution’s “Museum without Walls.” As director, he oversaw the development of major, research-based exhibitions including, among others, Crisis and Creativity: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt (2012), Colombia: the Nature of Culture (2011), and Asian Pacific Americans: Local Lives, Global Ties (2010). Prior to his work at the Smithsonian, he served on the staff of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He holds a B.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the George Washington University.
Sharon Glenn
Project Assistant, NHA Annual Meeting and Humanities Advocacy Day
(she/her)
As the Project Assistant, Sharon Glenn helps coordinate logistics and schedule meetings for the NHA Annual Meeting and Humanities Day. Sharon is a current Master of Public Administration student at American University and received BAs in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy and International Studies from The Ohio State University. Prior to NHA, Sharon worked at World Wildlife Fund as a Senior Assistant on the Freshwater and Food team.
Cecily Erin Hill
Deputy Director
(she/her)
Cecily Erin Hill is the deputy director of NHA. In this role, she oversees our research into the impact of federal funding for the humanities, devises our strategy for communicating about that impact, and supports projects across the organization. Previously, she led the NEH for All and Community Case Study initiatives, which focused on the impact of the humanities on public life in the United States. Prior to joining NHA, Cecily served as marketing and Communications Director for Books@Work (now Reflection Point), a public humanities nonprofit based in Cleveland, OH. She has published in Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900, and Women’s Writing, as well as taught writing and literature at The Ohio State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. in English from The Ohio State University.
Alexandra Klein
Director of Government Relations
(she/her)
As director of government relations at the National Humanities Alliance, Alexandra Klein leads NHA’s government relations efforts and collaborates with our advocacy partners in the humanities community to pursue increased federal funding for humanities policy priorities. Before joining NHA, she was an Allen Lee Hughes Fellow at Arena Stage where she worked in the communications department, splitting her time between Media Relations and Marketing. Prior to Arena Stage, Alex attended the George Washington University where she received a B.A. in both Journalism and English.
Scott Muir
Director of Undergraduate Initiatives
(he/him)
As director of undergraduate initiatives, Scott Muir leads NHA’s efforts to forward innovation in undergraduate humanities education and attract a broader range of students to the humanities. He is the host of the podcast What Are You Going to Do with That? and author of Protestant Privilege and Pluralism on Campus (Peter Lang, 2023), as well as multiple articles exploring the religious dimensions of camping music festivals published in Sacred Matters Magazine. He holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Duke University, an M.T.S. from Emory University, and a B.A. from Dartmouth College, and has taught at Duke, Emory, and Western Carolina University.
Younger Oliver
Higher Education Research Manager
(she/her)
As the higher education research manager at NHA, Younger Oliver works across NHA’s initiatives and partnerships to document the impact of the humanities in higher education. She is currently a PhD student in Higher Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to joining NHA, she worked as an academic advisor for the College of Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Alaska Anchorage and an M.A. in Higher Education, Institutional Research from the University of Michigan.
Kassandra Wahlstrom Ford
Director of Operations and Events
(she/her)
Kassandra Wahlstrom Ford manages NHA’s daily operations, including membership onboarding, renewals, and billing, as well as event logistics and registration. Before joining NHA, she worked in specialty coffee, both as a roaster and as a wholesale accounts manager, while volunteering at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. She has a B.A. in Anthropology from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.
