Gail Dexter Lord
President of Lord Cultural Resources

Speaker Bio:

Gail Dexter Lord is President of Lord Cultural Resources, which she co-founded in 1981 with her husband Barry Lord. Lord Cultural Resources has grown to become the largest cultural planning firm in the world with offices in Canada, the United States, France, Spain, Bahrain and China. The firm has completed over 1,600 cultural projects in 45 countries on 6 continents.

Gail brings exceptional vision and knowledge to each of the projects she leads including the development of cultural experiences to urban strategies. She is committed to assisting public, private and civic sector leaders worldwide develop their cultural capital including: Saadiyat Island Cultural District of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain National Monument, Louvre Lens, Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, Tate Modern and Tate Britain, The Lowry in Salford, Smithsonian National Museum of African American Heritage and Culture in Washington, DC, Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, and Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Gail has assisted in the development of cultural experiences and plans for cities and countries around the world including Toronto, New York, Seattle, Munich and Singapore.

Gail is frequently invited to speak on creating cultural experiences for cities, regions and institutions including engagements with the United Nations General Assembly Roundtable Discussion on Arts and Culture, International Council of Museums, British Museums Association and American Museums Association. Gail and Barry Lord have written numerous articles and books on a wide range of cultural topics. They have published a popular series on cultural institution planning with The Manual of Strategic Planning (2007); The Manual of Museum Learning (2007); The Manual of Museum Exhibitions (2001); The Manual of Museum Management (1997, 2009); and The Manual of Museum Planning (1991, 1999).