Director of Smithsonian women’s history museum withdraws from post

by Olafimihan Oshin - 07/05/23 11:34 PM ET

Nancy Yao, then-President of the Museum of Chinese in America, speaks during the press preview of “Responses: Asian American Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism” at the Museum of Chinese in America, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in New York. After being appointed to the position in March, Yao is withdrawing from her post as the institution’s pick for founding director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, the Smithsonian announced July 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The Smithsonian announced that Nancy Yao, the founding director of the institution’s American Women’s History Museum, has withdrawn from her position.

Smithsonian spokesperson Linda St. Thomas told The Hill on Wednesday that Yao withdrew from her position due to “family issues that require her attention.”

Thomas said the institution is starting a search for Yao’s replacement, adding that it has appointed Melanie Adams, the director of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, to serve as the interim director of the American Women’s History Museum.

Yao’s departure comes after the institution completed its investigation into her handling of sexual harassment claims in her previous role as the leader of the Museum of Chinese in America, a museum based in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood.

The Washington Post reported in April that Yao, who spent eight years as the leader of the museum, had to settle three wrongful-termination lawsuits filed by employees who said they were fired in retaliation for reporting alleged sexual harassment on behalf of young female staffers at the institution.

The two male employees who were accused of harassment kept their jobs and one was later promoted by Yao, according to the Post. Yao has denied that staffers have been let go in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment, saying those decisions were made due to budget pressures.

Yao, a former Goldman Sachs employee, would’ve overseen the Smithsonian’s new women’s history museum, which is expected to open in approximately 10 years and was estimated to cost about $375 million between construction and the creation of exhibits, The New York Times reported. The new women’s history museum will curate a collection designed to represent the historical influence of American women.

The institution had announced that Yao would start her position June 5, but it was delayed amid the investigation into her handling of internal complaints at her former employer, according to the Times.

Tags sexual harassment allegations Smithsonian Smithsonian Institution