Lisa Sasaki

Lisa Sasaki is the deputy under secretary for special projects at the Smithsonian Institution, where she provides leadership for the Institution in America’s semiquincentennial celebration and in efforts that maximize the institution’s impact online and in communities across the country. She also represents the Institution on the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, established by Congress in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Previously, Sasaki was the interim director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. She has worked in the museum field for 28 years for organizations like the Oakland Museum of California, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She has provided further service to the arts and culture field as President of the Western Museums Association’s Board of Directors, as a member of the Council of Jewish American Museums’ Advisory Council, a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s board of governors, and a member of the Meridian Center’s Cultural Diplomacy Leadership Council.