Nenette Luarca-Shoaf

A seasoned museum educator and interdisciplinary scholar, Nenette Luarca-Shoaf leads the institution’s Education and Public Engagement division, overseeing a staff of about 26 and over 1,000 volunteers. The division engages visitors of all ages with The Huntington’s collections, offering K–12 student and educator programs and partnerships, multigenerational drop-in activities, community collaborations, audio and digital resources, and classes and workshops for lifelong learners.

Before joining The Huntington in 2025, Luarca-Shoaf spent five years as managing director of learning and engagement at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. From 2016 to 2020, she was the director of adult learning and associate curator of interpretation at the Art Institute of Chicago. She also held curatorial and research positions at the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the University of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. She co-founded Open Rivers Journal, an open-access publication from the University of Minnesota that bridges academic research and public scholarship. Luarca-Shoaf serves on the board of directors for the Museum Education Roundtable and is an adviser to LA River Arts.

Luarca-Shoaf holds a B.A. in Art History from USC, an M.A. in Humanities from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Delaware.