Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Scott Stephenson holds a B.A. from Juniata College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from the University of Virginia. His broad public history experience spans nearly three decades and has been marked by public and professional acclaim for his creative and innovative approaches to engaging audiences.
Stephenson began his public history career while still a graduate student, working as an historical archaeologist at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and developing interpretive programs on frontier and Native American history for Colonial Williamsburg. He went on to develop or collaborate on exhibits, media and interpretive programs for numerous historical sites and organizations, as well as acting as an historical consultant for feature film and television productions.
Beginning in 2000, Stephenson served as historical and visual consultant for “The War that Made America,” a four-hour PBS series that aired January 2006. He was deeply engaged in all aspects of the production from program conception through post-production, including acting as on-set historical advisor, and collaborating with historian and author Fred Anderson (University of Colorado, Boulder) to develop the companion volume to the series.
From 2002 – 2007, Stephenson also served as curator at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, where he developed the international traveling loan exhibition “Clash of Empires: the British, French, and Indian War, 1754-1763.” The exhibition appeared to great public and professional acclaim at the Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh), Canadian War Museum (Ottawa), and Smithsonian (Washington, D.C.), and received the Award of Merit from the American Association of State and Local History.
In January 2007, the National Center for the American Revolution—now the Museum of the American Revolution—engaged Stephenson as a consultant to assess the fledgling organization’s collection and develop a vision for the museum’s core exhibition. In December 2007, he was hired as the first Director of Collections and Interpretation and became Vice President of Collections, Exhibitions, and Programming in April 2016. During this time, he led the development of the Museum’s award-winning exhibitions, multimedia experiences, and educational programming, as well as overseeing the care and expansion of its rich collection of art and artifacts. He served as a key member of the senior leadership team that raised $175 million, surpassing the original capital campaign goal of $150 million. In November 2018, Stephenson was named President and CEO of the Museum.
The Museum opened in April 2017 to national and international acclaim, including rave reviews in the New York Times, Washington Post, and New York Review of Books. The exhibits have received awards including the AAM 2018 Excellence in Exhibition Award for Special Achievement, AASLH Award of Merit, and the PA Museums Institutional Award for Washington’s War Tent. The Museum was nominated for a Leading Cultural Destinations Award 2017– “The Museum Oscars” – for Best New Cultural Destination of the Year in North America.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Stephenson is a passionate outdoorsman, enjoying wilderness canoe tripping and fly-fishing.
Stephenson lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his wife Dr. Donna J. Stephenson, Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The couple have two teenage children.