WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian has appointed Joanna K. Garner, an internationally recognized scholar and leader in educational research, as the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History. She is the third director in the Lemelson Center’s 30-year history and the first woman to serve in the role.

Garner began her new role Tuesday, Sept. 8. She has more than two decades of experience in educational research and cross-sector partnerships across museums, universities, schools and public institutions. Her research has examined how educational and museum experiences can shape people’s identities as inventors and innovators, including how invention education can help people understand their own inventive potential and see themselves as capable of contributing to innovation.

“Joanna Garner brings a remarkable combination of scholarship, leadership and critical understanding of the Lemelson Center’s work,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the National Museum of American History. “Having collaborated with the center for many years, she already knows and understands the people, ideas and partnerships that make it such a distinctive part of the Smithsonian. Her experience across museums, universities, schools and public institutions will be invaluable as the Lemelson Center continues to explore the history and impact of invention while creating new opportunities for people to appreciate and develop their own inventive potential, and I am thrilled to welcome Joanna as the center’s new director.”

For the past five years, Garner has contributed to the Lemelson Center’s work as a researcher and education consultant, including major initiatives such as the “Change Your Game”/“Cambia tu juego” exhibition and the global Spark!Lab Network. Her research on inventive identity helped inform the development of “Change Your Game,” which explores how sports and play can encourage young people to explore their inventive potential. In this role, she worked closely with center curators, educators, designers and researchers on exhibition development, visitor engagement research and professional learning initiatives.

Before joining the Smithsonian, Garner served for nine years as executive director of The Center for Educational Partnerships at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where she led educational research and innovation initiatives and established partnerships across education and public institutions. She has secured more than $35 million in external funding and published extensively on invention education, STEM identity and educational practice. Garner has a doctorate in educational psychology from Pennsylvania State University.

“I am delighted to return to the Lemelson Center in this new role and to build on the work I have had the privilege of being part of over the past five years,” Garner said. “The center has a unique ability to connect the history of invention and innovation with the ways people are imagining and creating the future. I am excited to work with its talented staff, partners and communities to advance that work and expand opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to understand themselves as inventors and participate in innovation.”

Founded in 1995 through a gift from inventor and philanthropist Jerome H. Lemelson and his wife, Dorothy, the Lemelson Center is the Smithsonian’s hub for the study of invention and innovation. Through exhibitions, educational resources, public programs, collections and scholarly research, the center explores the history and impact of invention and encourages people to recognize their own capacity for inventive thinking.

Recent initiatives include Inspiring STEM Pathways, a free educational resource for middle school students featuring contemporary innovators working across sports, gaming, health, technology accessibility and design; “Change Your Game,” an exhibition that explores inventive identity through the lens of sports and play; and Spark!Lab, a pioneering hands-on invention space for children that operates in museums across the United States and internationally.