Influential Woman · Anthropology and Museums

Alexandra Mueldener

Research Coordinator, Stories Project of Iowa City

Atlanta, GA

1Award received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Double Major in Anthropology and Spanish Degree Grinnell College Degree Master's Program (in progress Degree Completing May 2026) Cert TESOL Certified

Her Story

About Alexandra

My work in anthropology and museums started in 2021 while I was in college, after volunteering at a museum which sparked my interest in both fields. After graduating undergrad in 2023, I received a Fulbright grant to go to Pasto, Colombia for a year as an English teaching assistant. While there, I volunteered and learned extensively about the museum landscape outside the U.S. through social projects and museums, which has really helped form my outlook, opinions, and direction of work by providing that additional perspective. The accomplishment of getting the Fulbright and completing that work in ways that went beyond the scope of what I was expecting was truly remarkable for me. After returning to the U.S., I started my master's program and my thesis focuses on a carnival in Pasto that is UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, which brought me back to Pasto for the summer to continue my research and reconnect with the people I had met. Currently, I'm finishing my master's program while working as a research fellow at the High Museum on a project about how art museum visitation affects visitor well-being, and serving as research coordinator for Stories Project of Iowa City, helping build a literature museum through grant proposals and database development.

Quick Facts

IndustryAnthropology and Museums
Based inAtlanta, GA
Languages English, Spanish
Specialty Anthropology, Museums, Museum Visitation and Well-being
- Literature Museums
- Museum Networks and Collaboration
Volunteers with Museum volunteer work in Pasto, Colombia during Fulbright year

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Alexandra

01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

Museums are facing a lot of uncertainty right now, and I think they often get so absorbed in their own work and politics that they don't use their community as a landscape for their own connections. I believe building networks between museums as institutions could be a source of resilience and open, accessible learning between institutions, especially in these uncertain times. Museums are beautiful community institutions, but there's an opportunity to strengthen how they connect with each other to support the field as a whole.

02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

What I love most about anthropology and museums is this connection and understanding of humanity. It's really kind and empathetic in approaching differences and highlighting the remarkable things that people have done over time. I value understanding how people have done that and how we can continue to do that in ways that are relevant and helpful to communities today. Museums provide a space for people to not only reflect on the past, but also to envision futures where possibilities are kind of endless and we can dream a little bit. Even though we're grounded in work and the details of everyday life and things that have already happened, I think it allows people to connect with that material and with each other in really remarkable ways.

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