2026 Meet the Candidates Forum

Save this Zoom link to join:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89886359790?pwd=WiOQvx3oTC2wUHfwlkmeJrhwbwFbUW.1

Cast Your Vote!

---

Candidates:

Dr. Craig Hadley
Executive Director and Chief Curator
Dennos Museum Center
Northwestern Michigan College
Traverse City, Michigan

Craig Hadley, Ed.D. has nearly 20 years of academic museum experience and currently serves as Executive Director & Chief Curator of the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College. Craig earned his master’s degree in history and museum studies from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and his doctorate in educational leadership from Central Michigan University. He volunteers as an American Alliance of Museums accreditation site reviewer and serves as board treasurer for the Association of Academic Museums & Galleries. His writing has also been published widely in journals including The Museum Review, Forward: Museums, and The Journal of Leadership Education.

Isra El-beshir
Director of Art Museum and Galleries
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Virginia

Isra El-beshir has over ten years of experience in museums and higher education. She has devoted her career to fostering equity-driven initiatives through the arts, inspiring organizations to think boldly and dynamically while fostering growth with purpose and integrity. Currently the Director of Art Museum and Galleries at Washington and Lee University, she oversees the Reeves Museum of Ceramics, Watson Galleries, McCarthy Gallery, and a collection of over 15,000 fine and decorative arts. Previously, she served as the Associate Director of Museums at W&L (2020-2022); the founding Director of the Illinois Art Station, a community arts program of Illinois State University; Development Consultant for the premier journal, Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora; and as the Curator of Education and Public Programming at the Arab American National Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate. She has consulted on programs, exhibitions, and interpretations at the Detroit Institute of the Arts, Grand Rapids Art Museum, and the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Isra recently chaired the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility sub-committee and served on the Advisory Council of ‘Held in Trust,’ a three-year cooperative agreement between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation, aimed at evaluating the state of preservation and conservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the United States. Isra holds a Master’s in Cultural Anthropology and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. She speaks both English and Arabic.