Joel A. Bartsch is the president and CEO of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. He has experience of about four decades working in various museums. From 2010 to 2016, Joel Bartsch served as the chairman of the Houston Museum District Association (HMDA).
HMDA is the organization of all the museums in the Houston Museum District. The district comprises 19 museums situated within a 1.5-mile radius of Mecom Fountain in Hermann Park. The HMDA aims to instigate collaborative efforts that increase the use of the scientific, educational, and artistic resources of the Houston Museum district by visitors and citizens of the area.
The HMDA was formed on January 27, 1997, by eleven institutions in the Houston Museum District. Seven months later, it received the 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit. In 2002, five new museums joined HMDA, and in 2007, two museums joined, bringing the total number of institutions in the association.
