Devon Akmon is a museum leader whose career has been defined by innovation and the transformation of institutions into dynamic, community-centered spaces for learning and discovery. He currently serves as Director of the Michigan State University Museum.
Since joining Michigan State University in 2020, Devon has demonstrated a rare ability to turn challenge into opportunity. Tasked with catalyzing the growth of Science Gallery Detroit, he navigated pandemic-induced restructuring by merging the gallery into the MSU Museum, ultimately becoming its Director. He transformed Science Gallery Detroit into the CoLab Studio, an innovative museum division for experimentation and bold interdisciplinary programming. Recognizing the need to revitalize a 160-year-old institution, Devon spearheaded an ambitious five-year strategic plan, redefining the museum’s vision, mission, and values to position it as a timely, relevant, and collaborative hub for learning and discovery. Under his direction, the museum unveiled a comprehensive rebrand, launched a dynamic new website, and revitalized its marketing through impact-driven storytelling, establishing the MSU Museum as a vibrant collaboratory at the forefront of innovation. His leadership attracted significant philanthropic investment, including a transformative $28 million renovation, propelling the institution into a new era.
Before joining MSU, Devon served as a Senior Consultant with the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management, where he provided organizational guidance to more than 70 cultural institutions across the United States. His support spanned artistic and strategic planning, community engagement, marketing, fundraising, and board development, and included serving in interim leadership capacities for select organizations during periods of transition and transformation.
His tenure as Director of the Arab American National Museum (AANM) stands as one of the most consequential chapters of his career. Devon first joined the museum as a Curator of Community History when it opened in 2005, rose to Deputy Director in 2009, and was appointed Director in 2013. Under his leadership, the AANM expanded both physically and programmatically, adding the Annex, a community arts space, and an artist-in-residency unit in the neighboring City Hall Artspace Lofts. Within a decade of its inauguration, the museum became a member of the National Performance Network, earned international recognition as a TAKREEM Laureate for Cultural Excellence, became an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, and attained Accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.
In addition to his executive roles, Devon currently serves on the board of the American Alliance of Museums and the Japanese American National Museum. He has also held positions on numerous other governing boards and advisory committees, including those for Artspace, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and CultureSource. His service extends further to national grant-making review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Devon has distinguished himself as a keynote speaker at national conferences, including those hosted by the National Council on Public History and Grantmakers in the Arts, reflecting a career defined by thought leadership and sustained commitment to the cultural sector.
Devon has also contributed to the civic life of the communities where he lives and works, serving on the Broadway Historic District Study Committee, the Public Art Commission, the Equitable Engagement Steering Committee, and the Vision Zero Implementation Subcommittee for the City of Ann Arbor, as well as the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority.
A proud graduate of Michigan’s public universities, Devon holds a B.A. from Michigan State University and an M.S. from Eastern Michigan University. He has been named one of Crain’s Detroit Business magazine’s ’40 Under 40′ business leaders and is an American Express NGen Fellow with the Independent Sector, recognition that reflects not only his accomplishments but the influence he continues to have on the future of the cultural sector.