William J. Tramposch

Since the late 1970’s, Bill Tramposch has held leadership roles in the heritage and museum fields. He earned a B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of California, Berkeley; an M.A. (American Studies) and a Doctorate (Higher Education) from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. He was awarded Fulbright Fellowships to New Zealand in 1986 and again in 1988. Subsequently, he was appointed Director of Visitor Services at the new National Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa), and also served as Chief Executive of New Zealand Historic Places Trust. He and his family lived in New Zealand for ten years, and they now hold dual citizenships.

From 1979-89, Tramposch was Director of Interpretive Education and Special Program Officer at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. During his career, he has also been Vice President, Interpretation, of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, President of the New York State Historical Association, and Director of the Oregon Historical Society. While in New Zealand, he and his wife, Peggy, founded the Janet Frame Eden Street Trust, an initiative that has preserved the home and memory of one of New Zealand’s most famous authors.

Tramposch is a graduate of Oxford University’s (Templeton College) Senior Managers Development Programme, and has also been named a Visiting Fellow to Kellogg College, Oxford University. He has overseen, with the President of SUNY, Oneonta, the Cooperstown Graduate Programs in Museum Studies; is a graduate himself of the Seminar for Historical Administration; and has twice attended the Getty Leadership Institute in Berkeley, California. Tramposch has served as Vice-Chair of the International Council of Museums (AAM/ICOM); as a Board member of Fulbright New Zealand; a Board member of the NZ Antarctic Heritage Trust; and, in 1986, was awarded one of two places on an special ICOM delegation to the Soviet Union. He has published widely and consulted both nationally and internationally on the topics of museum and park interpretation and programming. Among his consultancies, have been: The Getty Trust; National Trust for Historic Preservation; Government New Zealand, Department of Education; English Heritage; Shakertown, Pleasant Hill, Kentucky; the Southern Oregon Historical Society and The Presidio Trust, San Francisco, California.

From 2006-2017, Tramposch was the Executive Director of the Nantucket Historical Association. The NHA cares for twenty-one sites and interprets the history of this internationally-significant island. The island of Nantucket, once the center of the American whaling trade, is a National Historic Landmark containing more than 800 buildings that pre-date the Civil War. Tramposch recently partnered, as Executive Producer, with Emmy Award Winning film producer, Ric Burns, to produce “Nantucket”, a gateway film about the island’s history.

In 2014, Tramposch was awarded a position on the nine-member national Museum Accreditation Commission. This Commission reports to the American Alliance of Museums and is responsible for setting and monitoring standards for museums nation-wide.

Most recently, Tramposch served as Senior Fellow for the American Alliance of Museums.