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Susana Smith Bautista, Ph.D. has a diverse work experience in the arts and museum sectors. Susana is currently serving as the Associate Vice President and Chief Curator of the AltaMed Art Collection, where they are responsible for managing a collection of over 1,000 works of Latinx/Chicanx art. Prior to this role, they were the Director and Chief Curator of the same collection. In this position, they developed a strategic plan for the collection's integration into AltaMed's health and human services clinics in LA and Orange Counties.

Dr. Bautista has also worked as a Museum Consultant for the Institute of Texan Cultures at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Susana served as the Lead Consultant for TeenTix, a nonprofit organization that provides arts access to teenagers. Additionally, they have held curator positions at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Susana'sinvolvement in various projects and exhibitions includes being a researcher for Getty PST 2: Los Angeles/Latin America, where they focused on the archives of Chicano artist Gilbert "Magu" Lujan. Susana also worked at the USC Pacific Asia Museum, where they restructured the museum's education department and served as the Director of Public Engagement. During their time at the museum, they facilitated the merger with the University of Southern California and managed the day-to-day operations.

Dr. Bautista has also had teaching experience as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Claremont Graduate University and as a Lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communications.

Susana Smith Bautista, Ph.D. pursued their education in a chronological order, starting with their Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Art History from Pomona College, which they obtained from 1984 to 1988. Later, they pursued a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies/Art History, Phi Kappa Phi, from the University of Southern California, which they completed between 1998 and 2000. Finally, they earned their Ph.D. as a Provost Fellow in Communication from the University of Southern California, a program they attended from 2007 to 2012.