Derek Williamson

I am an experienced and successful Museum Manager with a background in science and technology communication. I have worked in museums, schools, theatres, with organisational stakeholders, government and public audiences. Originally an educator, my performance experience led me to program development for diverse audiences which brought me back to Museums.

I love what I do. As a young person visiting the Western Australian Museum I fell in love with collections and the stories that only objects can harbour. And ever since I have been trying to tell real stories to touch peoples lives. I believe Museums should, can and do change lives through provocation and revelation.

My favourite Museums are the eclectic stores of communities like the Esperance and Broome museums used to be (unfortunately I haven't been for along time, so they may still be), or the fabulous cathedrals with endless galleries and collections.

Currently I am director of Australia's only publicly accessible medical pathology museum, with a mandate to increase our visitation across sectors and to improve the quality of our outreach. In the past three years we have more than doubled the effective audience of the Museum by creating new digital content, improving our marketing style and creating stronger links with our stakeholder networks. At the same time we have improved the budget position of the Museum returning significant surpluses year on year.

Specialties:
Museum Management
Audience Engagement
Science Communication
Presentation
Workshop facilitation and moderation