Ed Rodley has been an advocate for museums and an agent of change for more than 25 years and now teaches in the Harvard University Extension School Program for Museum Studies.
Rodley is an award-winning experience designer and lifelong museum lover. Over the course of his career, he has created a range of visitor-focused projects for museums and cultural institutions of all sizes. He aims to put informal learning at the centre of the visitor experience and incorporating emerging digital technologies into museums has been a key theme throughout his career.
Rodley co-founded The Experience Alchemists, an experience design firm, in 2021 with Annie Lundsten and Jim Olson
Before this, he spent more than seven years as Associate Director of Integrated Media at Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. During this time, he was part of the team that won a MUSE Award for Immersive Experiences from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).
He has also worked as an exhibit developer at the Museum of Science in Boston and has previously consulted within the cultural sector for such organizations as the National Park Service, The New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
As well as his work teaching at Harvard University, where he has been a part of its Extension School Program for Museum Studies for over a year, he has also written a number of articles and book chapters about museum practice.
Rodley is a mentor for others in the industry and is often asked to speak at international conferences. He is the co-chair and founder of the Boston Chapter of Drinking About Museums and runs his own blog, Thinking About Museums, as well as being a host of the American Association of Museum’s Museopunks podcast.
Rodley holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a MA in Historical Archaeology from the University of Massachusetts Boston.