Lunch & Learn: Saving Civil Rights Landmarks in Mississippi

Ida Bea Tomlin is a Senior Search Consultant for Museum Search & Reference, an executive search firm that places leadership in museums around the world. Locally, she serves as a consultant for the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) and the Meridian Museum of Art, and as a volunteer for the Meridian Architectural Trust.

In all her work, Ida keeps at the forefront best practices based on diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Ida is currently leading the effort to place St. Joseph Catholic Church on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ida has three decades of museum and nonprofit leadership experience. She retired in May 2021 as Director of Operations and HR for The MAX, where she established the building and operational policies, procedures, and human resources of the new facility.

She has served as Chief Operating Officer at the Detroit Zoological Society, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at the Detroit (now Michigan) Science Center, and Assistant Director and Head of Public Programs at Cranbrook Institute of Science in Michigan. Ida has served on the boards of several museum and non-profit organizations. She is a peer reviewer for AAM’s MAP and Accreditation programs and is a grant writer and reviewer for state and regional funders for the arts.

Ida has a Bachelor of Science from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan.