Executive Director & Chief Curator, New Americans Museum & Immigration Learning Center

Linda Caballero Sotelo is Executive Director & Chief Curator of New Americans Museum [NAM] a visual arts & oral histories space whose mission is to celebrate & educate about the contributions of multigenerational immigrants to the American narrative through cultural policy. Linda believes in the power of civic engagement & storytelling as tools for social change & democracy building through the participation and exposure to arts & culture practices as catalysts for building understanding & tolerance. Linda was born & raised in Tijuana, Mexico. A binational, bicultural, multilingual Fronteriza whose childhood was spent crossing the San Diego/Tijuana border daily for educational opportunities.

Linda has over 25 years of professional experience as a senior level executive for organizations, national & international projects and initiatives. She has led teams in a variety of corporate, public & non-profit settings including heading her own strategic policy consulting firm.

She has been a CEO and overall boss lady as US director of projects for the internationally acclaimed US/Mexico public art initiative INSITE ‘97 & again for inSite2000 where she was instrumental in the development of over 80 original public art installations & educational exhibition-related artistic commissions, curatorial, residencies & production teams in the execution of original world class artistic works along the US/Mexico border.

Linda is a contributing writer & speaker on arts, culture, democracy building, immigration & the intersectionality of arts & social justice movements. She has curated, organized & produced large-scale initiatives, international events & visual arts programming throughout her career.

She serves as a volunteer on a variety of boards & commissions including as a Library commissioner for the city of SD, as a mayoral appointee and various others. Formal education includes MA, Intl Relations & economics [Regents College, & London School of Economics, UK]. MPA-Currently pursuing a post grad program at Harvard Kennedy School; BA, Liberal Arts & history [UCLA & United States International University-USIU]

Linda’s a curious traveler, loves reading, new foods, both punk & house music, 80’s bands and cannot stand inequality and unkindness.