Biography

Beth Ziebarth is the director of the Smithsonian’s Office of Visitor Accessibility. She collaborates with disability, educational, and cultural organizations in order to enlarge the Institution’s audience of people with disabilities, expand the degree of Smithsonian engagement with the disability community, and improve the quality of museum experiences for people with disabilities. Ziebarth also develops and implements accessibility policy and guidelines for the Institution, ensuring that Smithsonian visitors equitably experience inclusive physical and digital environments.

In her more than 30 years at the Smithsonian, Ziebarth has served as a volunteer, as a social science analyst in the Institutional Studies Office, as leader of Access Smithsonian, and as Head Diversity Officer. She has translated her personal interest in accessibility and disability into a broader professional perspective and responsibility for visitor accessibility initiatives. Ziebarth received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Marquette University in Milwaukee.