Laura Pass Barry has been appointed the Carlisle H. Humelsine chief curator at Colonial Williamsburg, a role that expands her responsibilities to include leadership of Collections, Conservation and Museums as vice president. Barry began her career at Colonial Williamsburg over 30 years ago as a curatorial intern in folk art, later working as assistant curator to Margaret Pritchard and eventually overseeing the graphics, paintings, and folk art collections. She holds degrees from the College of Wooster and the College of William & Mary.
This appointment matters because Barry's deep institutional history and expertise in American decorative and folk art position her to lead Colonial Williamsburg's world-renowned collections during a period of heightened public interest ahead of America's semiquincentennial in 2026. Her promotion reflects the foundation's commitment to preserving and interpreting American material culture, while new initiatives such as the Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center and special programming for the Fifth Virginia Convention demonstrate the institution's evolving engagement with history and the public.