Kassie M. Edwards

Kassie M. Edwards is a museum professional, cultural researcher, and advocate whose work bridges scholarship, preservation, and public engagement. She currently serves as a Research Assistant at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), where she has spent nearly a decade researching and documenting African American visual art. Her expertise includes provenance research, acquisition justification, and curatorial support for significant exhibitions, with a particular focus on artists who created under the constraints of enslavement.

Edwards’s contributions have shaped more than 100 acquisitions for the museum’s collection and supported landmark projects such as Clementine Hunter: Life on Melrose Plantation and the Explore More! Google 3D Interactive initiative. She has helped organize and moderate high-profile public programs, including Smithsonian symposiums Making African America: Immigration and the Changing Dynamics of Blackness and Working Women: The Smithsonian Institution as a Case Study. Her research has been published in "Beauty Born of Struggle: The Art of Black Washington" (Yale University Press, 2023) and presented internationally at institutions such as the Museum Association of the Caribbean and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

A dedicated advocate for survivors of sexual violence, Edwards serves as Fundraising Chair for the DC Rape Crisis Center. She was recognized by the Obama-Biden White House as a Champion of Change under the Violence Against Women Act, honoring her leadership and public service. Her story and expertise have been featured by CBS, BET, Voice of America, and the Washington Post.

Edwards has received numerous honors, including the Forty Under 40 Award from the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund, the Zella Holbert Alumni Award from Washington Adventist University, and the Aspiring Legends Award from the Living Legends Awards for Service to Humanity.

She holds a BA in African American Studies from Florida State University, an MA in Public Administration from Washington Adventist University, and a certification in Art and Provenance Research from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. In addition to her work in cultural preservation, Edwards is deeply committed to advancing policies, resources, and public awareness that support survivors and work toward the prevention of sexual assault.