Michael Lesperance

Michael Lesperance is a lecturer in the MA in Museum Studies program.

Lesperance received his BS degree from Georgetown University, with a concentration in U.S. History and Diplomacy. He earned an MA in History from the University of Virginia. Lesperance focused on the Antebellum South, and U.S. Slavery. This informed his work as an exhibit developer and interpretive planner. From 1998-2023, he co-owned The Design Minds, Inc., one of the leading exhibition planning and design firms in the country. Lesperance remains affiliated as a Founding Principal of the firm. He has worked on projects at scores of institutions. These include state history museums (Oregon, Mississippi, and Utah), with federal agencies (most significantly the National Park Service), and a host of local and regional institutions. He is currently working on projects in Montana, Utah, and Washington, DC.

An NAI-Certified Interpretive Planner, and member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Lesperance is a leader in the drive to increase inclusion in museums. He served as past chair of the American Alliance of Museums’ Council of Professional Networks. Prior to that, as Chair of AAM’s LGBTQ+ Alliance, Lesperance helped author AAM’s LGBTQ+ Welcoming Guidelines (2015, revised 2019). Currently (2020-2026), as a member-elected Board Director of the National Association for Interpretation, he chairs the Advancement (Fundraising) Committee and serves on the Personnel, Finance, and DEAI/JEDAI Committees. He is a member of the committee revising the Certified Interpretive Planner protocol and has collaborated on several IMLS grants related to museum interpretation.

Previous teaching experience most recently includes a graduate-level course in Museum Practice at Georgetown University in the Art and Art History Department, Museum Studies (2012-2019). He has lectured to classes at Seton Hall, George Washington, and the University of Maryland Baltimore. Lesperance has presented at national conferences on exhibit planning, label writing, and exhibition design. He is the recipient of awards including AAM’s Excellence in Exhibition Label Writing.