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As a child growing up in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, Rosa Rodriguez-Williams rarely visited museums.聽

鈥淢useum life wasn鈥檛 something that I participated in,鈥� says Rodriguez-Williams, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Massachusetts when she was 8 years old. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see myself in those spaces.鈥�

Three decades later, Rodriguez-Williams is working to ensure that people of all races, colors, and creeds feel welcome in one of the largest art museums in the world.聽

As the first-ever senior director of belonging and inclusion at the in 艾可直播, Rodriguez-Williams says she will reimagine how the MFA welcomes and engages historically underrepresented audiences. The goal, she says, is to create a culture that prioritizes the experiences of the 1.2 million people who visit the museum each year.聽

鈥淚 saw this position and thought 鈥榳hy wasn鈥檛 this part of my life and why can鈥檛 it be part of the life of people who have my background and grew up in the same neighborhoods where I did?鈥欌�� says Rodriguez-Williams, who graduated from the 艾可直播 College School of Social Work in 1999 and joined the staff at the Museum of Fine Arts in September. 鈥淚t became an opportunity for me to open doors for folks who selected out of this experience because it seemed very elitist or something that wasn鈥檛 part of their conversations.鈥�

What鈥檚 on your agenda as the first-ever senior director of belonging and inclusion at the Museums of Fine Arts?

I鈥檝e really been in design-thinking mode, getting a feel of the museum, the culture, and its needs. Organization and inclusion and belonging starts with people and we鈥檝e recently launched three affinity groups at the museum: the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Affinity Group, the LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group, and the Parents and Caregivers Affinity group. I鈥檓 also working closely with the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Group and looking to expand the volunteer community to reflect greater diversity, especially among under-represented groups. We鈥檙e really focused on working to dismantle things that are barriers to belonging but also thinking about what makes this museum so special and honoring that too.聽

I鈥檝e been strategically placed under the Learning and Community Engagement division of the museum to focus on the visitor experience. When I鈥檓 thinking about belonging, I鈥檓 really thinking about how the staff members are engaging with visitors and how we can make visitors feel like the museum is a place for them.

How has the racial reckoning in America shaped the work of people who focus on improving belonging and inclusion at organizations such as the Museum of Fine Arts?

I believe there has been a shift in the present moment where organizations, whether it鈥檚 the museum or elsewhere in this country, are looking at what is happening and they鈥檙e thinking that we must move this agenda ahead. And organizations need to determine whether to stay the same or shift with the moment because that is what is being asked of us and demanded of us as a result of this racial awakening. We have to shift with it, and I think that鈥檚 where our work starts.聽

Following that came to light after seventh-graders from the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy in Dorchester visited the Museum of Fine Arts in May 2019, the museum to dedicate $500,000 to diversity initiatives and develop an antidiscrimination policy. How has this incident shaped the way you approach your role as senior director of belonging and inclusion at the museum?聽

As a parent, it鈥檚 heartbreaking to hear those things happen anywhere and continue to happen. And it鈥檚 why I鈥檝e been doing this work for more than 20 years. My vision is a vision for equity. It鈥檚 for dismantling inequity and for building institutional cultures that require institutions to think about belonging. Organizations have inclusion strategies that require folks from underrepresented communities to fit into the culture that is there. And what I love about the museum, especially in this time that we鈥檙e living in, is that it wants to be a place where people feel they belong. It鈥檚 really about dismantling barriers that make people feel like they don鈥檛 belong and changing the culture from 鈥榝it into what is鈥� to more of a place where everybody belongs.

You came to the MFA from Northeastern University, where you directed the Latinx Student Cultural Center. What made you pick the MFA to continue your work?聽

I鈥檓 from Lawrence. I grew up in the inner city. Museum life wasn鈥檛 traditionally something that I participated in. I didn鈥檛 see myself in those spaces. But I saw this position and thought 鈥榳hy wasn鈥檛 this part of my life and why can鈥檛 it be part of the life of people who have my background and grew up in these same neighborhoods where I did?鈥� It became an opportunity for me to open doors for folks who selected out of this experience because it seemed very elitist or something that wasn鈥檛 part of their conversations. But when you open the doors and see what鈥檚 actually here, you realize that it鈥檚 not like that. To create that environment and possibilities for communities like the community where I grew up was a big reason why I applied for this position.

Directing an affinity space at Northeastern immersed me in the Latinx community, but it also taught me how to work with other communities, which has prepared me for a lot of the inclusion work that I will be doing at the MFA.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

I was a little nervous because I don鈥檛 have a museum background and was coming in from higher ed. But in a lot of the conversations I鈥檝e been having, inclusion is top of mind and it鈥檚 very encouraging that the people I will be working with really desire to do this work in their own spaces. I鈥檓 really looking forward to working with folks here鈥攖hey鈥檝e been warm, they鈥檝e been open, they have this desire to create space for everyone in the city, and I鈥檓 really excited for that. I鈥檓 also learning about the love of art. I recently got to take a look at the and learning all about it has been phenomenal.

What did you learn at BCSSW that you鈥檒l apply to your work at the MFA?聽

BC was really special to me. I came right from undergrad and I didn鈥檛 even know exactly what I wanted to do. I just knew that activism and helping people was in my blood. At the BC School of Social Work, I was able to hone in on my leadership skills and realize the flexibility you have with a social work degree, which helped to shape where I would go next. I have especially fond memories of taking a class on race that really opened my eyes to a lot of things that I wasn鈥檛 aware of in terms of race relations and social work.