Preserving Heritage, Embracing Diversity

Ileana Ovalle ’06 (MA) experienced the true power of cultural representation as a child.

Led by her mother through the tall, arched entranceway to the Museum of Us, they were met with the towering cast replicas of Maya stelae, impressive stone monuments created by the Mayans that once graced civilizations throughout ancient Mesoamerica.

“I’d been to Tikal as a child, climbed the Templo de Gran Jaguar and visited family in Antigua,” recalled Ovalle while sitting at a large boardroom table in the administrative wing of the same museum she has frequented her entire life. “It makes me proud to see Guatemala represented at the museum.”

Ovalle is the current chair of the board of trustees at the Museum of Us. Appointed in 2023, she is the first woman of color to hold the position in the organization’s 110-year history.

“It’s a great responsibility to be involved with this historic institution,” said Ovalle. “I work very closely with the CEO to help guide good governance for the board of trustees and the institution.”

A first-generation San Diegan born and raised adjacent to Balboa Park in the city’s North Park neighborhood, Ovalle attended Jefferson Elementary School, Roosevelt Middle School and San Diego High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public administration and urban planning from San Diego State University and her master’s degree in nonprofit leadership and management from the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES). She is also a champion for authentic representation and inclusivity in library and museum spaces.

Ovalle’s mother immigrated from Guatemala and her father is from Puerto Rico.

The Museum of Us has been on a pathway to decolonization for the last 10 years and is currently undergoing decolonization of both its collections and practices. It’s a vital and ongoing process, Ovalle explained.

“The museum today presents very differently than when it opened,” she said. “Historically, we would be the authority on the lived experience of others, and today we rely directly on our communities to tell us how they would like to tell their story. Collecting cultural resources and ancestors, and showcasing them without consent, was very harmful.”

Formerly called the Museum of Man, the anthropology museum was established on the western edge of the park for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Along with vital work to decolonize how the institution conducts business, in 2020 the museum officially changed its name to the Museum of Us to better reflect the community and commitment towards inclusion. Ovalle, in her first board term, was involved with the process.

“I feel a great responsibility as a person of color to ensure that we are a welcoming pathway to the park — where everyone feels the park belongs to them and they feel included. I’m very proud of the work we are doing.”

Ovalle has more than three decades of experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She is currently a chief strategy and governance advisor at the Qualcomm Institute, a multidisciplinary institute that brings together faculty researchers and scientists from across the University of California system, as well as industry, to tackle the world’s largest problems with technology at the forefront. “Our job is to really look at the next big thing, the world’s most complex challenges and then solve them by using tools that don’t yet exist.”

Ovalle has long been a proponent of volunteer work. For her, it began as a 14-year-old girl donating time in the University Heights Public Library (they would go on to hire her for a 12-year career).

Providing spaces for people to access information and ways to find themselves is critical to personal growth and community-building, she said, crediting her mother, a career educator, for instilling that lesson through service and an appreciation for art and culture.

“To be a museum for everyone, you have to create a sense of belonging,” she explained. “For me, it was that cultural representation I felt when I walked into the museum for the first time. In this role, we are creating a meaningful space with the community for everyone to feel a part of our community.”

— By Matthew Piechalak

This story was featured in the spring 2025 issue of University of San Diego Magazine. University of San Diego Magazine is the flagship publication of the University of San Diego. Published two times a year, the magazine is distributed to alumni, parents and friends of the university.