Anna Slafer

At Johns Hopkins, Anna Slafer is a lecturer in the MA in Museum Studies program.

Principal of Anna Slafer Creative, a museum consulting service, Slafer serves clients ranging from PBS to Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Museum to the Allied Museum in Berlin, Germany. She previously spent 22 years at the International Spy Museum (SPY) in Washington DC, serving first as the founding Vice President of Exhibitions, Programs, and Collections, and most recently as the Senior Creative Strategist. At SPY, she established and oversaw the divisions of education, curatorial, exhibitions, and collections, and was project director for the creation of exhibition topics ranging from the history of terrorism in America to James Bond villains. Operation Spy, an hour-long immersive experience that engaged participants in an undercover “mission,” won the 2009 THEA for Outstanding Achievement for Museum Exhibits. She served as Project Director for the creation of the permanent exhibitions at SPY’s new L’Enfant location, which opened in May 2019, winning awards for label copy, media, and interactive designs. She also spearheaded the development of new national and international partnerships and projects that expanded the Museum’s brand and reach beyond its 630,000 annual onsite attendance.

Slafer’s career highlights include serving as founding Director of Education at the National Building Museum, creating the internationally recognized DesignWise and CityVision programs, co-developing the first Hands On History Room at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, and developing the Rolling Rainforest, an immersive mobile exhibition depicting a realistic rainforest inside a 53-foot tractor-trailer.

Her work has appeared in professional books and journals, and she is co-author of three award-winning publications, including the book, Why Design? She has served on national and international boards and as a consultant to numerous national and international organizations, ranging from the American Planning Association to the City of Las Vegas.

She holds a BA in Geography/Conservation and Analysis of Ecosystems from UCLA and an MAT in Museum Education from The George Washington University.