Lonnie Bunch

Lonnie Bunch is secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, since 2019. The first historian in this role, he oversees 19 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and several education units and centers. Prior to this, Bunch was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Previously, he was the president of the Chicago Historical Society. A widely published author, Bunch’s most recent book is A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump. His honors include being awarded the Society of American Historians’ 2021 Tony Horwitz Prize honoring distinguished work in American history.