Elizabeth MacMillan Director  
National Museum of American History   

Anthea M. Hartig, Ph.D. is the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She began her tenure in 2019 as the first woman to hold the position since the museum’s opening in 1964. Hartig oversees more than 230 employees, a budget of over $54.5 million, and a collection that includes 1.8 million objects and more than three shelf-miles of archives. Hartig is currently leading a vibrant strategic plan that challenges the museum to be the most accessible, inclusive, relevant, and sustainable public history institution. In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, she most recently opened “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness”/ “En Busca de Vida, Libertad, & Felicidad”— a landmark immersive display of 250 objects exploring the ideals of this founding document across 250,000 square feet and all three floors of the museum. An award-winning public historian and cultural heritage expert, Hartig is the former president of the Organization of American Historians and was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2026. A third-generation native of Southern California, Hartig was previously executive director and CEO of the California Historical Society.