About Dr. Storm
About Rachel Lauren Storm
Rachel Lauren Storm (PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) is the Assistant Director of Community Engagement and Learning for Krannert Art Museum (KAM), overseeing the work of the museum’s education team, including school initiatives, arts education curriculum, museum-community partnerships, and public programming. With over 15 years of experience in educational programs and arts-based engagement, Rachel approaches public engagement with a commitment to amplifying diverse stories, engaging social issues through the arts, and fostering community programs that generate interdisciplinary creative experiences. She oversees a broad range of KAM’s public programming including artist lectures, youth and family programs, teen engagement, museum internships, creative aging programs, exhibition openings, and outreach to underserved communities.
Rachel is Affiliate Faculty of Art Education in the School of Art and Design and in the Center for the Global Study of Gender Equity at the University of Illinois. Additionally, she is President of the Champaign County Museum Network. Prior to joining the team at KAM, Rachel managed arts grant programs and founded a variety of local arts initiatives including the Urbana Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate programs, Cinema and Sound, the Annual Feminist Film Festival, Arthouse 217, and Urbana’s Downtown Get Down summer festivals through her roles as the City of Urbana’s Arts and Culture Coordinator and in the University of Illinois’ Women’s Resources Center. She received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
In her role at Krannert Art Museum, Rachel supervises community engagement and learning staff, volunteers, and student interns, and collaborates regularly with School of Art and Design courses, including offering graduate and undergraduate level independent studies in art museum education.