Kristen Hayashi

Kristen Hayashi has a diverse work experience spanning multiple organizations and roles. Kristen began their career in 2013 as a Teaching Assistant at the University of California, Riverside. From 2013 to 2018, they worked as a Graduate Student Research Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution.

In 2006, Kristen joined the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and held various positions, including Assistant Collections Manager, Assistant Registrar, and Collections Technician. In these roles, they conducted research, wrote and edited content for exhibitions, developed data capture methods, created reports for curators and designers, and managed accession and transaction records.

Kristen also worked as an Intern at the Chattel Architecture in 2015, where they researched and drafted a historic context statement and wrote an amendment to a National Register nomination. In 2013, they were an Intern at the Smithsonian Institution, where they developed an exhibition proposal.

Since 2017, Kristen has been working at the Japanese American National Museum, starting as a Collections Manager and later taking on the role of Director of Collections Management & Access and Curator.

Overall, Kristen's work experience showcases their expertise in collections management, research, exhibition development, and historic preservation.

Kristen Hayashi holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in History from the University of California, Riverside. Kristen also completed a Master of Arts (M.A.) in History with a concentration in Public History from the same institution. Prior to that, they earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in American Studies from Occidental College.