Doretha Williams

Dr. Doretha Williams serves as the Center Director of the Robert F. Smith Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Smith Center serves to make accessible historical collections through digitization, public programming and interaction, and by supporting educational development in the museum and archives fields.  Through the Community Curation, Project, Professional Curation Program, Interns and Fellowships opportunities and the Explore Your Family History Center, the Smith Center serves as a major public history component for the NMAAHC.   Prior to her appointment at NMAAHC, she was the Project Director for the D.C. Africana Archives Project, a grant-funded appointment with the Africana Studies Program at the George Washington University (GW).  From 2011-2013, Doretha served as the Executive Director of the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City.  Doretha is a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville and received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Kansas.