Barona Cultural Center & Museum Welcomes Therese Chung as Museum Collection Manager

Barona Cultural Center & Museum announced today the appointment of Therese Chung as the Barona Museum Collection Manager.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Therese join us at Barona,” said Laurie Egan-Hedley, director of Barona Cultural Center & Museum. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this position and will play a pivotal role in the work we are doing to preserve Native American tradition and culture here at the Barona Museum.”

In her new position, Chung will oversee the care of the significant collection which represents thousands of years of Native American history including some objects dating as far back as 10,000 years. She’ll be responsible for the proper storage and housing of the collections, coordinating the logistics of acquiring new collections, managing the critical paperwork required to authenticate and track each piece and creating policies for the maintenance of the paperwork.

With over nine years of museum experience, Chung brings an impressive track record to Barona. She’s served as a project archivist, director of cataloging, registrar and project manager at the San Diego History Center and also held assistant and associate registrar positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. More recently, Chung served as a consultant for the Wa$xayam Pomki Museum at the Rincon Reservation in 2013, evaluating the needs of the museum and creating a reorganization plan focusing on collections care, database management and artifact storage.

Chung graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. She then went on to receive her master’s degree in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, CA in 2002.

About Barona Cultural Center & Museum

Dedicated to interpreting, preserving, and honoring the traditions and history of the Native people in San Diego County, the Barona Cultural Center & Museum houses over 13,000 artifacts, photographic displays and archives. It showcases many Indian traditions, such as birdsongs, language, gatherings, gaming and artwork and highlights the Barona Band of Mission Indians. In addition, classes and tours for public and private schools, civic groups, clubs and other organizations are offered.

Located at 1095 Barona Road in Lakeside, just one mile north of the Barona Resort & Casino, the Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.baronamuseum.org or call 619-443-7003, ext. 2.