Mid-Term Appointment to IMA Board Announced
Tara Templeman, The History Center, Joins IMA Board

Dr. Heidi Lung, President of the Iowa Museum Association, announced today that a mid-term appointment has been made to fill an IMA Board vacancy due to the recent resignation of Dr. Rick Woten.  Lung thanked Dr. Woten for his service, and noted that he was leaving the museum field.  While on the IMA Board, Dr. Woten served on the committee developing STEPS-IMA.

Dr. Lung appointed Tara Templeman, The History Center, to the vacancy.  In making the announcement, Dr. Lung noted the importance of volunteer service in sustaining and growing Iowa’s nonprofit sector.  

Lung said, “The museum industry depends on volunteers who serve in many ways.  Likewise, the Iowa Museum Association depends on volunteers who share their time and talents to lead the organization in fulfillment of its mission, for the benefit of the Iowa museum community. Tara’s volunteer work with an IMA committee has been important to IMA’s outreach to the community."

Tara Templeman joined The History Center as Curator & Collections Manager in December of 2019. She received her Masters of Museum and Field Studies from the University of Colorado-Boulder. During her graduate studies, Tara named a new genus and species of fossil mammal. While she focused on natural history during school, Tara’s interest quickly turned to more recent human history. She has six years of experience working in the museum field. Tara served as the Curator of the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum for two years and various roles including Museum Curator and Arts & History Manager for the City and County of Broomfield, Colorado. She moved to Cedar Rapids to be closer to family and engage fully with collections and history research again. She lives in an historic 1914 home with her fiancé, two dogs, and a cat.

Tara began volunteering for the Iowa Museum Association in 2020, serving on the Programming and Digital Engagement Committee which develops a variety of educational experiences for the field, and supporting the IMA's social media outreach through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Cynthia Sweet, Executive Director of the Iowa Museum Association, said, “Since Tara joined an IMA committee, she has been diligent in attending meetings and joining in the work of the IMA.  Her assistance with social media outreach has been essential to the IMA connecting with those who work and volunteer in Iowa museums.   

The Iowa Museum Association has provided support for the Iowa museum field for over forty years. As the industry changes and the needs of Iowa’s museum community change, the IMA responds with new initiatives, educational offerings, and new technologies.  IMA Board members are vital to this process, bringing fresh and unique perspectives of museum needs and assisting IMA to provide the services and support sought by the museum community.

Sweet noted, “The IMA is currently fulfilling a new strategic plan with four key initiatives: - increasing member revenue, increasing IMA revenue, building partnerships, and increasing IMA use of technology.  Through the development of new programs such as STEPS-IMA, IMA Plugged-In, and Teaching Iowa History, the IMA provides opportunities for museums to continue to learn and to build capacity thus growing in sustainability.”

Sweet went on to note the IMA’s increased use of technology and the many virtual programs IMA offered throughout the 2020 pandemic that will continue, increasing accessibility and access.  These include a virtual conference dashboard, IMA Plugged-In, Friday morning Colleague Conversations, and STEPS-IMA.

The mission of the Iowa Museum Association is to work in the interests of Iowa museums to build organizational capacity, advocate to heighten awareness of the field, and foster community.

Iowa’s museums include art centers and art museums, botanical gardens, children's museums, historic sites, history museums, historical societies, living history sites, nature centers, natural history museums, planetariums, science and technology centers, and zoos.

For more information about the Iowa Museum Association, visit www.iowamuseums.org