As a fierce advocate of the Minnesota Historical Society’s mission to create powerful engagement with history, Avi Viswanathan provides executive leadership to the areas that bring that mission to life: Library, Research & Collections; Education & Interpretation; Historic Sites Network & Operations; and Inclusion, Outreach & Community Engagement. Avi has been with MNHS since the spring of 2020, serving as Director of Community Engagement and Senior Vice President of Inclusion, Outreach, and Community Engagement.
Avi’s commitment to community engagement extends across and beyond MNHS. He developed the curriculum and currently teaches a course in community-based leadership in the Master’s Degree in Professional Studies in Civic Engagement program at the University of Minnesota. During his time at MNHS, Avi has connected with colleagues across the country to build community engagement practices in the field. Avi has presented at the American Association of State and Local History Annual Conference in both 2021 and 2023, and in 2022, Avi was approached by the New Jersey Historical Commission to support the launch of a new grant program.
Prior to joining MNHS, Avi held positions in the nonprofit, public, and academic sectors. Most recently, he served as the director of the Community Engagement Institute at Nexus Community Partners in St. Paul, where he supported the creation of community engagement plans and structures in government agencies across the country. He has served as a fellow at the Bush Foundation, the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, and the office of former Senator Al Franken and chaired the boards of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice and the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council.
Avi earned a B.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology in Computer Science and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston. He also received certifications from Cornell University for Diversity and Inclusion and from The London School of Economics and Political Science in Strategic Decision Making.