OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Canadian Museums Association and Woodland Cultural Center are pleased to announce that Janis Kahentóktha Monture has been appointed Executive Director & CEO of the Canadian Museums Association (CMA). . Ms. Mount is currently the executive director of the Woodland Cultural Center (WCC), one of the largest facilities in Canada, managed and administered by a First Nation and CMA member since 1986.

Ms. Outfit is a member of the Mohawk Nation, the Turtle Clan of Six Nations of the Grand River, and comes to CMA as a highly qualified and experienced leader. She has served with the WCC in two separate terms for 16 years, leading an important transition for Woodland as the center neared its 50th birthday^th anniversary and the remediation and restoration of the Mohawk Institute, a former residential school, into an interpretation center.

She has also served on the steering committee of the Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures and twice as visiting artistic director at the Harbourfront Centre, a leading contemporary arts organization in Toronto. She has also served as Director of Tourism and Cultural Initiatives for the six nations of Grand River Development Corporation.

Her appointment was the result of an extensive search process that included evaluating eight recruitment firms and over 20 candidates. A hiring committee of 12 museum professionals, assisted by BIPOC Executive Search, made a unanimous decision. The committee included CMA board members, as well as representatives from CMA staff, Provincial and Territorial Museums Associations, CMA Fellows, and Emerging Museum Professionals Canada.

This is a historic appointment for the CMA as Ms. Monture is the first Indigenous person to hold the role of Executive Director in the CMA’s 76-year history. In addition to supporting the CMA’s ongoing efforts to implement the recommendations of…