Description

This session is in-person. Join Oasis for a conversation with Jody Sowell, President and CEO of the Missouri History Museum. Hosted by Oasis founder Marylen Mann.

Jody Sowell is a Memphis native that has been with the Missouri Historical Society (MHS) for 16 years and has worked in several different roles ranging from oral historian, Director of Exhibitions and Research, and most recently, Managing Director of Public History. Under Sowell’s advisement, the Missouri History Museum opened eight of the ten most-visited exhibits in the museum’s more than century-long history. He oversaw the development of the Missouri History Museum’s first permanent exhibit for children, the History Clubhouse, which won an Award of Merit from the American Association of State and Local History in 2016. Sowell also managed the team that created MHS’s first feature-length documentary, “Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri,” which won a regional Emmy. Before joining MHS, Sowell worked as a reporter at the Dallas Morning News, was an assistant professor at Mizzou’s School of Journalism, and was a news editor for the Columbia Missourian. On top of his bustling career with MHS, Sowell lectures at St. Louis University and Fontbonne University, is a member of the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) and the American Alliance of Museums. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in American Studies from St. Louis University and a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri.