OMA Board of Directors

Ariel Peasley, Board Member

Portland Metro

Ariel Peasley was born and raised in Oregon, but earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Montana, Missoula and her Master's degree in Anthropology and Museum Studies from California State University, Chico. She has worked in museums since 2013 and returned home to Oregon in 2017. She is currently a Museum Educator at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE). Ariel is passionate about public and community education and the important part that museums and other non-profit organizations do to provide this service to their communities. She hopes to continue to aid in this endeavor in her role on the OMA board and is excited about other opportunities to help serve fellow museum professionals across Oregon.

Eleanor Sandys, Board Member

Portland Metro

Eleanor is an independent arts & culture professional with over 15 years of experience in nonprofit and arts administration. In her most recent role at the Oregon Arts Commission, Eleanor oversaw Oregon's Percent for Art in Public Places program, as well as managing grant programs for artists. Eleanor brings a breadth of experience to OMA in many areas relevant to museums, such as membership and development, grant writing, contract administration, volunteer management, event planning, collections management, exhibition coordination and project management. Over the course of her career, Eleanor has worked and interned at a variety of organizations, including Ecotrust, SCRAP, Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Portland Japanese Garden and the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Oregon, and FOR-SITE Foundation, Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Arts Commission in California. Eleanor has a Master’s in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy University and a bachelor’s in Cultural Anthropology from Reed College. She believes in the power of museums and the arts to present diverse experiences, generate critical conversations and encourage new perspectives.

Heather Christenbury, Board Secretary, DEAI Committee Chair

The Coast

Heather Christenbury is the Executive Director and Curator of the Coos History Museum. She received her B.A. from the University of Colorado in the field of Anthropology. Heather moved on to complete archeological field school while living and working throughout Europe and Africa. After working for the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge, she returned to the U.S. and completed her M.A. in Museum Studies through the University of Oklahoma. Since that time, Heather has worked for a diverse range of museums and cultural institutions in the Denver area before most recently moving to Oregon. Heather specializes in inclusive interpretation collaborations with community partners and best practices related to collections management.

Lydia Heins, Board Member

The Coast

Lydia Heins, appointed Executive Director of the Coos Art Museum in 2023, has more than a decade of experience across STEM and cultural museums. Her academic credentials include an BA in History from Linfield University and an MA in Museum Studies from the University College London. Lydia loves dedicating herself to improving the museum community through community engagement, cultural education, and economic prosperity. Transitioning from a STEAM collection back to her passion for arts and culture, she excels at sharing the diversity of artists and cultural events. As Executive Director, Lydia is committed to fostering relationships, promoting local arts, and recognizing the global impact of arts education within the coastal arts community.

Stacy Nalley, Board Vice President, Programs Committee Co-Chair

Willamette Valley

Stacy Nalley is the Public Outreach Coordinator at the Oregon State Capitol. She received her B.A. from San Francisco State University in journalism and minored in cultural anthropology. Stacy is passionate about communications in general and is fascinated by the impacts of social media on our society. She holds her Certified Interpretive Guide Training (CIGT, CIG and CIT) accreditation through the National Association of Interpretation and has helped regional cultural and heritage organizations by sharing the field of interpretation with them. Stacy believes that museums enrich lives and can provide accessibility to information through a more equitable lens. She and her husband enthusiastically explore museums from revered to obscure, and everything in between.

Natascha Adams, Board Member, Conference Committee Co-Chair

Willamette Valley

Natascha is the Director of the Independence Heritage Museum, located in the historic hop capital of the world.

Natascha has spent most of her career working in non-profits. After interning with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and graduation with her MA in Museum Studies from the George Washington University, she spent close to two years as an archaeologist in Ireland. She returned to the states and was the director of OMSI’s Hancock Field Station and learned firsthand how instrumental hands-on learning is for kids and adults to truly grasp complex concept. Her time as Vice President of Youth Development at the YMCA left a lasting impression on her philosophies of inclusion and community engagement, while her time as a volunteer recruiter for the State of Oregon’s Long Term Care Ombudsman agency helped hone her skills in marketing and outreach.

Natascha rejoined the museum world in 2021 working only a few blocks from home in a community she loves. She is passionate about telling the stories that have gone untold, creating innovative programing, engaging the community, and making sure everyone feels welcome and safe to explore.

Val Van Alstyne, Board Member, Programs Committee Co-Chair

Willamette Valley

Val Van Alstyne is the Community Engagement Manager at the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem, Oregon. Her previous museum experience began in 2013 in Colorado where she received her BA in Museum Studies and a minor in studio art. As a Colorado native, she interned for and was employed by several Denver art and history museums, mainly in collections and preparator positions. Since moving to Oregon, Val has previously served as General Director at the Frank Lloyd Wright Gordon House and continues volunteering in historic preservation for the Parks Department and at local arts events. She is an artist herself and enjoys being around creative people in the museum field.

Jessica Hougen, Board Member, Conference Committee Co-Chair

Willamette Valley

Jessica Hougen is the Executive Director of the Benton County Historical Society. After obtaining B.A.s in Women’s Studies and Anthropology, she received her M.A. in Museology from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. She then followed her career around the country for 18 years before making it back to Oregon.

Jessica has held jobs at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York; the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada; the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas; and the Sutter County Museum in Yuba City, California. Most of her positions have been in curatorial and collections roles, although, if you know small museums you know she has done everything from giving guided tours to cleaning the toilets.

Jessica is constantly inspired by the incredible people doing work in the museum industry.