Monica M. Smith is the Acting Deputy Director of the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History (NMAH). Since 1995, she has played a lead role in museum exhibitions, public programs, and other invention research and educational initiatives. Her major ($4-5M) projects include serving as the project director, co-curator, and principal investigator for three National Science Foundation grant-funded exhibitions: Game Changers (in progress); Places of Invention, winner of the inaugural 2017 Smithsonian Excellence in Exhibitions Award; and Invention at Play, a traveling exhibition that won the prestigious American Alliance of Museum's Excellence in Exhibition award. A selection of other Smithsonian exhibition projects she worked on include: Picturing Women Inventors (on display at NMAH); Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There (on display at the National Air and Space Museum); and From Frying Pan to Flying V: The Rise of the Electric Guitar (closed). Monica writes frequently for the Center's blog, has published articles in journals and books, and is a featured expert in the Smithsonian Channel’s award-winning film “Electrified: The Guitar Revolution.” In addition, Monica served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Museum Education (2005-08) and is currently on the Foundation Board of the Rotary Club of Washington, DC. She earned a BA in history from Pomona College and a non-profit management executive certificate from Georgetown University. In 2021, Monica was selected for the Smithsonian's Russell E. Palmer Leadership Development Program.
