Carol Ghiorsi Hart was appointed as executive director of the Greensboro History Museum in 2012. Her vision for the museum is that it will “engage the community in the pursuit of wisdom through connections that challenge.”
To this end, the museum seeks to collect the city’s diverse history and to connect its people to their past and to each other. It works towards this aim through a programme of exhibits, educational programs and community dialogue.
Ghiorsi Hart’s key projects have included: support for Warnersville, an African American neighbourhood which had been negatively impacted by urban renewal, and was named Greensboro’s first Heritage Community in 2015; the multi-award-winning exhibit Pieces of Now, which responded to the events of 2020; exhibition and significant panel event for NC Democracy: Eleven Elections, which addressed issues surrounding voter restrictions and political manoeuvring; the annual Lifted Voices event, which celebrates historical figures who have made significant positive contributions to society, yet have been silenced or marginalised; and the production of the award-winning documentary This is my Home, which was a result of a collaboration with Montagnard refugees who immigrated during and after the Vietnam War.
“Under Carol Ghiorsi Hart’s visionary leadership, the Greensboro History Museum has emerged as a dynamic institution committed to preserving and celebrating the diverse tapestry of Greensboro’s history, connecting communities, and serving as a beacon of resilience and progress in challenging times,” said one person who nominated her.
She has extensive experience in the museums sector and was formerly executive director at Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium, executive director at Smithtown Historical Society, and Curator of Social Sciences at Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum. She has also held the position of Adjunct Instructor of Anthropology at Farmingdale State University of New York.
Ghiorsi Hart studied Cultural Anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington, where she earned her MA and ABD.