Photo: 漏 Museum of Fine Arts, md传媒国产剧

CHARACTER SKETCH

Rosa Rodriguez-Williams MSW鈥�99

The BC alum is the new senior director of belonging and inclusion at md传媒国产剧's Museum of Fine Arts.

As a child, Rosa Rodriguez-Williams didn鈥檛 visit many museums with her family, who moved from Puerto Rico to Lawrence, Massachusetts, when she was 8 years old. 鈥淏eing from the inner city, we felt that museums weren鈥檛 for people like us,鈥� Rodriguez-Williams MSW鈥�99 said. A few decades later, she鈥檚 now helping make one more inclusive. In September, Rodriguez-Williams鈥攚ho built her career creating space for people from marginalized communities鈥攚as named the first-ever senior director of belonging and inclusion at the Museum of Fine Arts in md传媒国产剧, where she'll work to ensure that guests of all backgrounds feel comfortable visiting the world-class collections. 鈥淭his is a big place for me to open doors for people that usually would not walk through,鈥� she said. 鈥�Alix Hackett听

THE POWER OF ART听
鈥淚 love people鈥檚 stories, and art brings stories and narratives alive. When people put art on a canvas, to me it鈥檚 like their insides are being poured out. It鈥檚 a beautiful thing to be able to experience that here.鈥�

ONGOING ACTIVISM听
鈥淚鈥檝e always been an activist. It鈥檚 always been at the forefront for me. It might seem new to some because the cries for racial justice and social justice are more in your face, but this work has been happening for a very long time.鈥�

A REAL SHIFT听
鈥淚nstitutions and organizations鈥攚hether it鈥檚 a museum, a university, or a bank鈥攔ealize that there鈥檚 a real shift happening. They have to look at and assess what they鈥檙e doing and move with this generation, or get left behind.鈥澨�