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TAM Council Slate Voting 2026

Voting is open for TAM members through February 1, 2026

Monday, December 29, 2025 at 12:00 AM (CST) to Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM (CST)

Event Details

TAM Slate Voting for 2026 

As an active Individual Member or Institutional Member Designee of the Texas Association of Museums, you are eligible to vote in the current TAM election cycle now through February 1, 2026. 

Election results are tabulated by a Teller Committee and announcements will be made on the TAM website and social media channels shortly after the election closes. Terms for these open positions will be effective March, 2026. Stay tuned!

 

Take a look at the Councilor slate below, then vote here!


2026 TAM Officer Slate

President 


Michelle Everidge

CEO & President
The Witte Museum - San Antonio

 

Vice President for Programs


  
Emily Wilkinson

Director
Museum of the Big Bend - Alpine







Vice President for Development

 

Daniel Carey-Whalen

Director
Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens - El Paso

 

 

Vice President for Special Projects

 


Kendal Smith Lake

Director of Communications
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth - Fort Worth


Vice President of IDEA




Kheli Willetts

Principal
Dira Professional Development, LLC - Houston




Treasurer



Desmond Bertrand-Pitts

CEO
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum - Houston



Secretary


Rebecca Tucker Nall

Assistant Director of Exhibits, Communication, and Visitor Services
Mayborn Museum - Waco



Past President

 

Ann Fortescue

President & Executive Director
International Museum of Art & Science - McAllen






2026 TAM Councilor-At-Large Slate





Kate Betz

Principal
Story + Reason - Austin










Betsy Eudy

Chief Financial Officer
National Medal of Honor Museum - Arlington






Tiffany Jehorek

Executive Director
Longview Museum of Fine Arts - Longview









 

 

Shae Nawoj

Assistant Historic Site Supervisor
Log Cabin Village - Forth Worth 








Aubrey Nielsen

Collections Manager
Brownsville Historical Association - Brownsville





Angela Pfeiffer

Regional Collections Manager
Texas Historical Commission - West Columbia






Ricardo Quezada

Director of Cultural Preservation
Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo - 
El Paso






M’Lou Taylor Hyttinen

CEO/President
Heritage Farmstead Museum - Plano






VOTE HERE

2026-2028 Term
Spotlight on New Council Members: 

Kate Betz

Kate Betz is fascinated by the tangible marks people leave behind on places and things, igniting her curiosity about how things are made, how stories are told, and how things are connected.

With over two decades of experience in the field, Kate brings that passion and perspective into everything she does. As a principal at Story + Reason, she collaborates with partners to help them shape meaningful, relevant experiences, understanding the needs, opportunities, and challenges of different groups—and helping them work together toward a common goal.

Kate has previously worked in museums of all shapes and sizes in Texas, New York, and Connecticut, where she leads by example, rolling up her sleeves to do the work while guiding teams to create programs, exhibitions, and initiatives that earned national recognition for innovation and scholarship. Outside of consulting work, Kate teaches soon-to-be museum professionals, sparking conversations about the value of museums and the ongoing work needed to push the field forward. She has a BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University and an MA in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.



Shae Nawoj

Shae Nawoj has a deep love for stories. From small stories we tell ourselves to larger national ones, stories shape the way we see the world and conceptualize our place in the larger story of humanity. It’s this love of narrative that has guided her public history career and continues to shape her work in the field.

As the assistant historic site supervisor at Log Cabin Village, Shae works alongside third person historical interpreters in sharing the (hi)stories of our collective 19th-century ancestors to connect with 21st-century visitors. Through these connections, Shae and her team engage visitors with a complicated past that considers and uplifts the wide diversity of voices and experiences that shaped the land we now call Texas into what it is today.

Shae has worked both as an intern and full time staff member at a variety of museums in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Wyoming. These experiences gave her the opportunity to serve the public from a variety of departments including collections management, exhibition curation, educational program delivery, and leadership. Her educational background includes studies in public history with an emphasis on 19th-century American history and memory with a BA from Sam Houston State University and an MA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

VOTE HERE