2021 has mobilized several institutions to reflect on its leadership, core programming, and service towards the community. As museums continue to adjust and adapt to a post-Covid-19 world, many have made changes that fit to improve overall programming and internal management and direction. 

On March 11th, the National Building Museum announced Aileen Fuchs as the institution's fifth director. Selected by the Board of Trustees, the Museum expresses its excitement over her leadership. Fuchs will take over Brent D. Glass, who has served as Interim Executive Director since July 2020. Expected to reopen during the Spring, the Museum plans for a new lineup of exhibitions from MASS Design Group and the D.C. debut of the Gun Violence Memorial Project, in addition to the works of architectural photographer Alan Karchmer.

The Museum will have a brand new Visitors Center and an exciting set of programming for the summer. The institution has expressed its confidence in Fuchs and shares, "The appointment of Fuchs comes at an important moment for the nation's only cultural institution dedicated to the built environment."

No stranger to leading large institutions, prior to her appointment as Executive Director of the National Building Museum, Fuchs has led the Snug Harbor Cultural center since 2017, was the former Executive Director of Exhibits & Programs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, and associate curator and content manager at the American History Workshop in New York. 

Fuchs shares, "As our nation reopens and recovers, Americans are looking to create more just, safe, healthy, and resilient environments for their lives. This is precisely the mission and the role of the National Building Museum—sparking curiosity about the built environment in order to create a better world—and this mission has never been more relevant. I look forward to working with the talented staff and Board to deepen the Museum’s impact as it enters this next chapter.”