Bonnie Styles

bonstyles@gmail.com

Dr. Bonnie Styles is the Executive Director of the Association of Science Museum Directors (ASMD) and an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University. She is the Director Emeritus and an Adjunct Research Associate of the Illinois State Museum (ISM) System. After serving in progressively responsible positions of Anthropology Chair, Director of Sciences, and Associate Director, she directed the ISM system for 10 years. She also led the ISM’s interdisciplinary Landscape History Research Program. She brought in numerous federal grants from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services and other funds to support and develop ISM research, educational programs, and exhibitions. She is a champion for the value of interdisciplinary research and informal science education.

A national leader in the Museum field, she chaired the American Alliance of Museum’s (AAM) Accreditation Commission for three of the nine years she served on the Commission. In 2013, AAM recognized her as a star advocate for museums at the national level. She served as ASMD President for three years and Secretary-Treasurer for six years before becoming their first Executive Director in 2017.

She is also a leader in the scientific community. She has served as President of the Midwest Archaeological Conference and the Illinois Archaeological Survey, and on the Society for American Archaeology Board. She was the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Quaternary Association for 14 years. She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Geological Society of America, and Illinois State Academy of Science.

She has a BA in anthropology from Arizona State University, a M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University, and her specialty is zooarchaeology. Her research explores landscape evolution and changes in human subsistence practices in the Interior Eastern United States. She has over 60 publications dealing with archaeological and museum themes.