Has the Pandemic been the Mother of Invention?

Society Street brings together leaders and future leaders of professional and academic societies to look holistically at their organizations, and to foster discussion, learning, and the sharing of insights and experiences of transforming learned societies into modern and relevant organizations. Society Street webinars run throughout the year. Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to offer these webinars at no cost to attendees.

Sarah Stannage, Executive Director of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, a Learned Society established in 1950 by a group of men and women, a number of whom were part of the World War II ‘Monuments Men’ which saved internationally important collections from being lost forever. Sarah is the first Executive Director of the IIC and was appointed in 2018 having worked in senior positions in museums and heritage for over 15 years, including at chief executive level. In this current role, Sarah is focusing on the strategic development of the Institute in its mission to bring together conservators and cultural heritage specialists around the world educating, enabling and recognising excellence. Sarah has degrees in Environmental Decision Making, Policy and Ethics as well as Strategic Management and Finance. Having first trained as a Conservator-Restorer at the School of Art, Design and Architecture in Lincoln, Sarah went on to work in community-led heritage regeneration with an Urban Regeneration Company in Peterborough, forming the UK’s first Environment Capital. During this time Sarah played an early and instrumental role in supporting the conservation of the internationally significant Bronze Age discoveries at Must Farm in the UK and promoting the importance of archaeological sites, like Flag Fen, at risk from climate change. Sarah often blends her professional experience and track record for co-production and promoting participatory approaches to project development with advisory roles in academia, most recently on a large £2million AHRC funded multi-disciplinary project ‘Understanding Everyday Participation: Articulating Cultural Values’. In 2010 Sarah was awarded a prestigious Clore Leadership Fellowship, recognising her work in museums and conservation and she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Tobey Jackson is an Event Program Executive for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). She manages the Institute's engagement with the U.S. national security community and oversees the DEFENSE Forum and Hypersonics Conference. As a result of COVID-19, both of these conferences were canceled for 2020 and she has temporarily shifted to being a part of AIAA’s virtual event teams, managing the Institute’s relationship with conference vendors and supporting all aspects of event planning and engagement. Prior to joining AIAA in 2014, Ms. Jackson spent 15 years with the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA International) in corporate membership, marketing and public relations roles. She began her career in pharmacy benefit marketing first with Rite Aid Corporation and later MIM Corporation. She holds Bachelor’s Degrees in International Relations and Spanish from Messiah University. Having lived in seven countries, she developed a passion for travel and international affairs early on in life. She has a long list of places she’d like to visit, and always welcomes suggestions and travel tips.