Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues,

Like the place where a rainbow blends into sky, MANY’s work can barely be seen from our office on the banks of the Hudson River in Troy. It takes all of you to make what we do visible. I will never know the full extent of the impact I have made at MANY in my decade of service, first as a member of the board of directors and then as executive director.  But I do know that brilliant colleagues, creative problem solvers, generous collaborators, visionary leaders, and steadfast supporters of museums have served as my inspiration and my compass. 

Your emails, note cards, and phone calls with thanks and good wishes have offered a glimpse into the difference I have made and I will admit that my tears have been flowing freely. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. Thank you for sharing your successes and your challenges. Thank you for letting me carry your stories beyond the MANY office to give other museum people a way to look at their work through a different lens. 

When I have taken the pen or the podium to speak out for New York’s museums I have done so with the confidence that you are there with me. If you have not been comfortable with advocacy in the past, I am asking you to help continue my work by making one call or writing one letter this year to thank your legislative representatives for their support, invite them to your museum, or let them know the challenges you are facing as a community anchor, an economic driver, and an organization that stewards and interprets our state’s history, art, architecture, and culture. 

We used our collective intelligence to build MANY into an organization that helps people who work in museums solve complex problems by integrating collaboration and creativity with digital communications. Together we gathered and synthesized our knowledge, experience, and resources to turn some of our darkest and most difficult times into a community that helps each other succeed.

I look forward to talking to as many of you as I can at our 2024 annual conference which is just days away. Meaningful connections created at MANY’s annual conference, at other programs across the state, as well as those that happen during our virtual programs have forged a vital web of connections that support the field. I leave MANY in the hands of thousands who will keep this web strong and growing.

With thanks for all of your support,

Erika Sanger, Executive Director