professional development – Prycer Consulting

The Stories We Could Tell. . . If We Paid the Interns

Here’s the simple truth: I wouldn’t be in the museum field if it wasn’t for a string of paid summer internships during my college years. But this origin story is rapidly becoming extinct.

But if all the educators are gone?

If we’re lucky, we all have particular moments in our career that we can point to and say “I’m really proud of this. If this is my legacy, it’s enough.” Earlier this week, Facebook reminded me that it had been 10 years since one of those moments–the founding of the Informal Educators of Dallas County.Continue reading “But if all the educators are gone?”

Credit where it’s due

This past summer, I was asked to join a City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs task force regarding contextualizing the Confederate symbols scattered around Fair Park. We would also be discussing a memorial to Allan Brooks, victim of Dallas’ most notorious lynching. And then I went into panic mode. Like any good public historian,Continue reading “Credit where it’s due”

Finding balance in the archives

I abhor a mess. But for most of the last month, my dining room table has looked like this. As an executive director, I do an enormous amount of writing–grants, emails, newsletter articles, and blogs. But I had almost forgotten how historical writing stretches your brain in entirely different directions. It was almost like myContinue reading “Finding balance in the archives”

It’s time to talk about toxic loyalty

“I’m miserable in my job, but I can’t leave until I finish this major project in two years.” “I keep thinking that my next boss will be better.” “I feel terrible about leaving my staff behind in this terrible situation.” We probably all have a friend that has said something like this. And for thoseContinue reading “It’s time to talk about toxic loyalty”

Four Years

Today is the fourth anniversary of the board vote. You know, that board vote. The one where I was no longer Interim Executive Director and became President and Executive Director of Dallas Heritage Village. Here’s how I shared that news on facebook: This afternoon, I’m having a lot of fun deleting the word “interim” fromContinue reading “Four Years”

The joys of data

It’s nice to be proven right. Way back in 2010, back when I was the Director of Education and Gary was still running things, Dallas Heritage Village went through a strategic planning process. The recession was crushing us, and we knew we needed to make some dramatic changes. We made a few key decisions thatContinue reading “The joys of data”

Two Years

I’m still not completely sure how I feel about Facebook’s memories that pop up unexpectedly in my feed. Over the last two weeks, four of them have been about what I was up to two years ago. I’ve never had Facebook hone in on a year quite like that before But how on earth doesContinue reading “Two Years”

Notes to Self

Just returned from Louisville, where I was attending the annual meeting of the American Association for State and Local History. And before I get back involved with the day to day of running Dallas Heritage Village, here are a few notes to myself I’d like to make for next year’s conference in Detroit. Don’t agreeContinue reading “Notes to Self”