Joe Imholte is executive vice president of the Bakken Museum, a science museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has had a respected career in museums, working in various areas for more than 25 years. He has served in leadership roles for other cultural organisations and is a recognised champion of the arts. He advocates for an equitable workplace and industry.
Most recently, Imholte has been working to build salary equity in the field. In a guest post for the American Alliance of Museums, he spoke about how the Bakken reformed its salary structure. “I had a transformative experience in a museum when I was a kid, and used to tell adults that I was going to work for a science museum when I grew up,” he wrote.
“Eventually, I began my lifelong museum career as front-line program staff and, as such, have always had a salary that dragged behind my peers elsewhere in the museum. It was always explained to me as ‘the market’ dictating why my colleagues in exhibits, development, or marketing were paid (sometimes significantly) more than those of us in programs or education.”
“I knew that managers in other areas of the museum earned more than those of us in the education and programs areas, even if we had bigger budgets or more direct reports to manage. I continued to just accept it,” added Imholte.
Additionally, he is committed to anti-racism work as a trained racial justice facilitator and qualified administrator for Intercultural Development Inventory. He also currently serves as a board member of the Informal Learning Leadership Collaborative.
Before joining the Bakken Museum, Imholte led many innovative and successful projects at the Science Museum of Minnesota. During the pandemic, he continued to offer live programmes in safe and comfortable environments. He partnered with local theatre companies to provide live performances at the Bakken’s outdoor space.