Dr. Deborah Johnson-Simon- is a Museum Anthropologist and the Founder and CEO of the African Diaspora Museology Institute, Inc. (ADMI) in Savannah, Georgia, formerly known as The Center for the Study of African and African Diaspora Museums and Communities. ADMI is a research lab dedicated to scholarly investigation of the history and culture of the experiences of the African Diaspora descendants surrounding Black cultural institutions.

Dr. Johnson-Simon has worked for more than 30 years on museum and cultural heritage projects in many states, including Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and now Georgia.

During her career, Dr. Johnson-Simon has researched African Descendant museums in Belize, Ghana, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Additionally, she taught at Santa Fe Community College and the University of Florida, both in Gainesville, Florida, where she earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology. She earned her MA in Anthropology and Museum Studies from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and her BA in Anthropology/Sociology from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Dr. Johnson-Simon is a scholar-in-residence at Savannah State University in the Asa H. Gordon Library. She has presented her research at museums and anthropological professional conference panels and discussion groups, as her research institute is unique to this area of academia. She is the Second Generation of African American Pioneers in Anthropology (2018) co-editor, published by the University of Illinois Press. She is currently working on the Kiah Museum Story, which documents the life and work of portrait artist and museum founder Virginia Jackson Kiah.

Empowering African Diaspora museums through research, collaboration, and community-driven initiatives to preserve black history and culture.

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