IAAM adds PR and community relations manager
June 10, 2022
The International African American Museum (IAAM) has added Keisha Kirkland as the public and community relations manager. In this role, Kirkland will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy for IAAM to drive awareness, interest, and engagement with both the local community and the world at large.
Kirkland joins the team with over 10 years of experience in strategic communications, community outreach and engagement, and digital communications. She also has considerable experience in assembling and managing alliances to meet communications and public affairs goals. In 2016, Kirkland joined the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), a government agency located in the District of Columbia. There, she managed community outreach initiatives, external digital campaigns, and social platforms in conjunction with designing communication plans and strategies for new services. Additionally, she was appointed by the D.C. Code Official Association as deputy communications administrator and played a key role in ensuring that the launch of the agency’s new brand was thoroughly developed, implemented, and communicated to businesses, residents, and visitors.
Prior to joining the DCRA in 2016, Kirkland worked at the University of the District of Columbia as an outreach coordinator and consultant. During her time there, she developed the Expungement Program in collaboration with the D.C. Public Defender’s Office, which helped thousands of District residents who were on welfare obtain employment.
Kirkland, who is a native of Conway, S.C., earned her bachelor’s degree from Norfolk State University, where she majored in mass communications and minored in broadcast journalism with a focus on public relations. She earned her master’s degree in public administration from The University of the District of Columbia. Kirkland is a member of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA), the American Society for Public Administrators (ASPA) Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM
The International African American Museum (IAAM) is home to the African Ancestors Memorial Garden, the Center for Family History genealogy research library, nine core galleries, and special exhibitions space. The museum explores the African American journey through transformational storytelling of the achievements of African Americans in national and international contexts, exhibiting how the ingenuity, labor, resistance, and culture of a people have shaped every aspect of our world. Located in Charleston, S.C., the museum has reclaimed the historically sacred site of Gadsden’s Wharf, one of America’s most prolific slave-trading ports.
The International African American Museum is a champion of authentic, empathetic storytelling of American history and is thus one of the nation’s newest platforms for the disruption of institutionalized racism as it evolves today. Set to open in early 2023, IAAM’s mission is to honor the untold stories of the African American journey at one of our nation’s most sacred sites. The museum is an independent 501c3 non-profit organization. For more information, please visit iaamuseum.org or call 843-872-5352.
