Howe Innovation Center community profile: James Monroe
The Creative Director of Strategic Programs at the Museum of Science talks about “science at the pace of change” – and where DisabilityTech fits in
In 2025, the Howe Innovation Center is joining the Museum of Science in celebration of Being Human – exploring the intersections of disability and human rights to demonstrate why accessibility and inclusion are community issues, not just disability issues.
James Monroe, the Museum’s Creative Director of Strategic Programs, has been an important partner in amplifying disabled voices and the power of DisabilityTech through this programming.
Get to know him in this Q&A.
Tell us about your role.
As the Creative Director of Strategic Programs, I get to work with teams across the museum to create new products, experiences, and public programs.
I also lead the museum’s SubSpace brand of events, which are designed to engage adult audiences. I design these programs to be a bridge to communities and audiences that might not view the museum as a resource for them, either because they don’t consider themselves “science-minded” or because they may be from communities that have been historically left behind by our industries and institutions.
Our mission at the museum is “to inspire a lifelong love of science in everyone,” so our goal is to create programs and experiences that feel welcoming to everyone.
What sparked your interest in DisabilityTech?
As part of our mission, we are really intentional about partnering and building experiences and programming for and with different communities to make sure they resonate and are relevant to people’s different needs, viewpoints and perspectives.
And building this relationship with Perkins has made me aware – as a producer and as a curator – of all of the different types of experiences that we could and should be creating.
Disability tech was really introduced to me through our work with Perkins. And it’s something that we’ve been interested in exploring, both through this programming and through different partnerships that we’ve been able to create through Perkins.
We’re very much looking forward to building a whole evening around disability tech – not only to welcome in the community, but also to inform the wider general public of all of the incredible innovation that’s happening within the disability community and for the disability community.
Our museum is focused on current science and technology, and we want to make sure that we are presenting the general public and our visitors “science at the pace of change” – and that means innovation across all technologies and across all communities.
It’s a really exciting intersection that we’re ready to amplify across our stages over the course of the summer and beyond.
What have you been enjoying most about working with the Howe Innovation Center?
The spirit of collaboration is some of the most open I’ve had in my career. It’s a true partnership – our two teams work really well together to generate and exchange ideas.
We also have an opportunity to create new types of experiences that we may not have otherwise. We’ve been able to learn and teach ourselves and push ourselves – as an institution and as an event-producing team – to learn more about disability, and create programming that’s intentionally serving that community.
We try to ensure that we’re always being proactive and not reactive when it comes to accessibility, but this partnership has allowed us to deepen that, and create specific convenings that spark discussion around it.
What is a book that has had an impact on you?
My favorite author is TJ Klune – he’s a speculative fiction writer who really explores what it means to be human through that fantastical lens, and always through a queer lens. He has a book called The House in The Cerulean Sea that is one of my all-time favorites. It’s about chosen family and acceptance and empathy – and I think those messages stand the test of time, but are especially needed in current times.
What do you like to do for fun?
My partner and I love to spend time with our two dogs, taking them on walks.
In addition to that, I’m a huge Bravo fan. So for me, it’s catching up on my Bravo television, and sort of having that escape.
If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I’m a big sushi fan – specifically a spicy scallop roll or spicy tuna roll.
What excites you about the future of the Museum of Science / Perkins partnership?
I want to continue to build this relationship and bring the powers of our institutions together, so we can keep creating exciting opportunities for communities to convene – both here at the Museum and, hopefully, the Perkins campus.
We’ve built this partnership over the course of our year of Being Human, and I already know that there are multiple possibilities for working with Perkins on our 2026 spotlight topic.
We just really hope that this is a collaboration that will continue to grow and flourish in the coming years – it’s become one of our most important, so I’m eager to keep learning more as a producer and as a creative director and to keep bringing our audiences together for singular experiences that wouldn’t be possible without our partnership.
