An Accessible Past: Making Historic Sites Accessible to All

An Accessible Past: Making Historic Sites Accessible to All helps historic sites and house museums understand what they need to do in order to be legally compliant, and then, going beyond legal compliance, find creative ways in which to make their sites and museums accessible to visitors with a variety of types of disabilities.

Heather Pressman is an educator with a passion for accessibility and inclusion. Her background includes work in education, development, and communications. She currently serves as the Director of Learning & Engagement for the Molly Brown House Museum, one of the leading historic houses in terms of accessible programming. Ms. Pressman has previously presented on museum accessibility at regional and national museum conferences, including AAM. She currently serves as a member of the organizing committee for the Art of Access Alliance in Denver, a consortium working to make Denver’s arts and cultural attractions accessible to all. In this role, she helps plan and organize workshops and symposia for staff and volunteers of Denver area cultural organizations. Prior to moving to Denver, Ms. Pressman was selected as a member of the Accessibility Learning Collaborative, established by the California Networks for Collaboration, a statewide project launched by the California Association of Museums. She holds a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from The Johns Hopkins University. There, her studies focused on education, accessibility, and developing online communities. She recently co-authored The Art of Access: A Practical Guide for Museum Accessibility (2021), published by Rowman & Littlefield.