‘A voice that needs to be heard’

Preparing for next year’s unveiling of the 9/11 Memorial Museum comes with high expectations and Alice Greenwald, a Cedarhurst native and Lawrence High School alum, hopes to provide visitors with a sense of hope through the museum’s exhibits.

“There is a huge pressure involved in creating a museum to a subject matter for an event that happened a decade ago,” said Greenwald, who is the memorial’s director. “We don’t have the benefit of having historical documents to reference. There’s a huge responsibility to get the story right and present the story to visitors.”

Greenwald previously worked as the assistant museum director for museum programs at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and said her past experiences helped her begin her position as director at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in 2006. “It’s a different material line but there are some parallel issues when deciding what is private and what is public content and how you portray the perpetrators in a memorial setting,” she said. “I came into this project with an awareness of what the big questions were.”

Chief of Staff at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum William Parsons said Greenwald was with the museum from the very beginning and that it was a natural progression for her to go from the Holocaust Museum to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. “She has a real handle on these kinds of issues of terrorism, hate and genocide and she is always very focused on the audience and making meaning out of history and important events,” he said. “She is very knowledgeable, a wonderful writer and colleague and is a treasure that you want on your side when you’re building something meaningful like the 9/11 Museum.”

The 9/11 Memorial opened to the public on the 10th anniversary of the attacks and Greenwald said it has been very well received. “There are passes available on our website to visit the memorial and we have timed reservations and have to limit the number of people since three sides of the property are not open yet,” she said.

Michael Frasier, the director of communications for the 9/11 Memorial Museum has known Greenwald for two years and said it was a good decision on the organization’s part to bring her aboard. “She is extraordinary in the fact that she has a laser focus on what history needs to be represented in the museum but also be compassionate on what happened that day, to the family members and to the general public who will be visiting the site,” he said.

Frasier said while there has been focus on the 9/11 Memorial, the public should be anticipating the museum’s opening. “I believe that when people experience the history and the stories she and her team of curators are amassing, they’ll see that the museum is a voice that needs to be heard,” he said.

In her 35 years of museum experience, Greenwald said she finds her work very interesting. “I love museum work,” she said. “It’s a process where you take an idea and develop it into something that becomes physically real and when the idea becomes reality, it’s fascinating and gratifying.”

As Greenwald sets her sights on the September 2012 opening, she hopes to create the best museum possible. “I hope that people will experience the museum both as a powerful physical and emotional environment but also where healing can take place,” she said. “I also hope people see potential for the future.”