Incoming director of Smithsonian American Women's History Museum steps down months …

The founding director of the Smithsonian’s forthcoming American Women’s History Museum has withdrawn from the role less than four months after her appointment was announced, following allegations that she mishandled sexual harassment allegations at her former workplace, she said Wednesday. In a statement posted to her LinkedIn page, Nancy Yao said she was withdrawing from the position due to family issues, including her father being in hospice care and her “two wonderful teenagers needing my support.” She also cited recent coverage in The Washington Post reporting that under her leadership, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) — where she previously served as president — settled three wrongful-termination lawsuits by former employees who claimed they were fired in retaliation for reporting allegations of sexual harassment by senior male staffers towards young female staffers. The two men who the staffers accused of harassment kept their jobs at the museum, and Yao later promoted one, The Washington Post reported in its April investigation. Yao “vigorously denied” retaliating against the whistleblowers and the lawsuits were settled without admission of wrongdoing by Yao or the museum, the newspaper reported. “I want to be honest and mention that another factor influenced my decision — the recent articles
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