Elizabeth Eder

Elizabeth K. Eder has worked at the Smithsonian Institution for more than fifteen years, first as Assistant Chair, National Education Partnerships at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and then as Head of Education and Public Programs at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Dr. Eder most recently worked as a Program Director in the Office of the Associate Provost for Education and Access where she oversaw Smithsonian-wide PreK-12 strategic education initiatives. Dr. Eder came to the Smithsonian in 2005 after teaching social foundations of education (history, philosophy, and sociology) at the University of Maryland College Park and Millersville University (PA) for five years.

She began teaching at the Johns Hopkins University Museum Studies Graduate Program in 2008. Dr. Eder has also worked as assistant director of professional education at the American Alliance of Museums, head of school and teacher programs at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, and lecturer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She is the author of Constructing Opportunity: American Women Educators in Early Meiji Japan, co-editor and author of Hidden Messages: Instructional Materials for Investigating Culture, lead author of the chapter “Visitor-Centered Exhibition Design: Theory into Practice” in Visitor-Centered Exhibitions and Edu-Curation in Art Museums, as well as numerous articles in juried publications and museum digital and print publications. She is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and an invited lecturer at museums and universities.

Dr. Eder has a BA in art (minor in art history) from American University, a MAT in museum education from George Washington University, and a PhD in social foundations of education (comparative and historical) from University of Maryland College Park.