
Illinois State Museum System Board of Directors
The Illinois State Museum Board of Directors is a group of eleven dedicated Illinois citizens appointed by the Governor who volunteer to oversee museum policies, prescribe duties of the museum director, and advise the Department of Natural Resources with regard to Museum operations. The members are appointed for two-year terms based on their qualifications and interests related to the fields of museum activity.
Officers
Board Members
Leverne Backstrom has served on the Board of Directors of the Katherine Dunham Center for Arts and Humanities since 2005 and is currently President Pro Tempore. Leverne is a retired 9th grade Language Arts teacher at East St. Louis Senior High School and a former organizer for the Illinois Federation of Teachers. She is member of the Olivette Park Neighborhood Association, East St. Louis Planning Commission and Trinity United Methodist Church. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Kansas Wesleyan University. She was appointed to serve on the Illinois State Museum Board in 2020.
Beth Shadur is an artist who has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions including at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Drawing Center in New York City and the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York. She has created over 150 large, public murals as public, private, and community art projects in both the United States and Great Britain. She is an Artist-in-Education for the Illinois Arts Council and has served as a visiting artist at many colleges and universities. Ms. Shadur has lectured widely on community arts and has curated numerous national exhibitions. Shadur is a Thomas Watson Fellow from Brown University and has been awarded numerous national and international residencies. Shadur has served as the Gallery Director at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Illinois for nearly six years. She was first appointed to serve on the Illinois State Museum Board in 2016.
Roger Taylor attended Northwestern University Law School and practiced law with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He retired as a partner in 1999 and remains of counsel. In 2001 he became President of Knox College and served in that role until retiring in 2011. He continues a pro bono law practice and teaches trial advocacy. He has received honorary degrees from Carl Sandburg College and Knox College. He was first appointed to serve on the Illinois State Museum Board in 2016.
Rachel Baum Torbert currently serves as the deputy director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. As deputy director, Torbert leads internal and external communications and social media strategy for the department. She also serves as spokesperson for the agency and prepares staff and senior leaders for media interviews. Prior to her work at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Torbert served as the digital news manager for the Illinois Farm Bureau, where she sourced, wrote and edited content for Illinois Farm Bureau’s digital news platforms, including FarmWeekNow.com and ilfb.org. Torbert grew up on Baum’s Hilltop Farm, home of several circuit champion and year-end high point-winning paint horses located in Clinton, Ill. Torbert graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Agriculture Communications. She serves as the Illinois Department of Resources board designee.
nikhil trivedi works as the Director of Engineering at the Art Institute of Chicago overseeing the development of interactive applications for web, mobile and in-gallery experiences. He is a regular contributor at The Incluseum blog. His writing has been featured in Model View Culture, Fwd: Museums, and the Journal of Museum Education. Trivedi is also a co-creator of the Visitors of Color blog, where they document the experiences of people from marginalized communities who visit—and don't visit—museums. He earned his Bachelor of Science from DePaul University in Human Computer Interaction. He was appointed to serve on the Illinois State Museum Board in 2020.