Denise Morrison, Director of Collections & Curatorial Affairs
Denise has nearly 40 years of experience working in the museum field, as well as the nonprofit and public sectors. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Denise attended Southeast Missouri State University and got her bachelor’s degree in Historic Preservation (one of the first to graduate from this new program, 1982) and her Master of Arts from Eastern Illinois University in Historical Administration (1984). She has been with the Kansas City Museum for 35 years, starting in 1988 as the Archivist, then moved to the Registrar’s position, and finally to the Director of Collections position, which she has held since 2008.
Prior to the Kansas City Museum, Denise worked at the Liberty Memorial Museum (now National WWI Memorial and Museum), Reno County Historical Society in Hutchinson, KS, and as Assistant Director of the Finney County Historical Society in Garden City, KS. Denise has also consulted on a few museum projects for museums in Atchison, KS and Overland, MO.
Areas of specialty for museums: Collections Management, Archival Management, Exhibit Content Development and Curation, Project Management, Historical Research, Database Management, 20th Century History, and Early Film History.