Karen Ackerman Witter worked in Illinois State government for 35 years in leadership positions in the Office of the Governor, state agencies, and the Illinois State Museum. As natural resources policy advisor to Governor James Thompson and Director of the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources, she was deeply involved with governmental affairs and public policy. She helped to develop and pass legislative initiatives related to the environment, reviewed legislation to recommend action by the Governor, and interacted with diverse constituencies on proposed legislation and policy issues. Karen was the Associate Director of the Illinois State Museum for 14 years with responsibilities for external affairs, constituent relations, membership, and development. She has served in leadership roles on the boards of the Illinois Association of Museums and Association of Midwest Museums (AMM), including President of AMM. Leveraging her background in government, she has participated extensively in advocacy initiatives of the American Alliance of Museums. She is a frequent presenter about advocacy at state, regional, and national museum association conferences. Museum Advocacy Day happens every February and Karen will be leading a new course Building A Stronger Organization Through Advocacy in February 2017. For more information on this course visit our website at http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/building-a-stronger-organization-through-advocacy/ -- Brad Bredehoft CEO Museum Study, LLC www.MuseumStudy.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).