Director's Corner

Jordan Boyd, Director

Jordan L. Boyd was born in Wesley, Arkansas and grew up in the community of Afton, Oklahoma. He is proud to be a sixth-generation Ottawa Countian. He graduated from Afton High School in 2009 and went on to continue his education with receiving an A.A. in Social Sciences from NEO A&M College in 2011, B.A. in History with minor in Communications and certificate in Women’s Studies from Pittsburg State University in 2013, and M.A. in History with emphasis in Museum Management in 2015 from Pittsburg State University. He held several leadership roles while attending NEO including Phi Theta Kappa Secretary, History Club Secretary, Phi Bet Lambda member, Investment Club member, and Presidential Partners Speaker’s Panel. His involvement at PSU Extracurricular Activities included Phi Alpha Theta President, Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Charter Member, History Club, College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council, Crimson Club, and PSU Transfer Scholar Leader.

Jordan has been involved at the Dobson Museum since February 2011 and was hired in June 2015 as the first official director of the Dobson Memorial Center Museum & Home. The museum had been operated with volunteers of the Ottawa County Historical Society and caretakers hired by Nellie Dobson Trust prior to his tenure. Boyd has held several roles and been involved within several area museums. He served as an intern for the Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, Kansas while attending Pittsburg State University and served on their staff for 3 years as a Collections Manager. He was also an intern for the National Archives in Washington, D.C. through the Lincoln Archives Digital Project in December 2013-January 2014, and worked on an Oral History Research Project in Spring 2013 through PSU and Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum with their oral history interviews of miners and their families. He has also assisted with several area displays including the O. Gene Bicknell Exhibit housed in the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts at PSU and PSU Foundation’s 30th Anniversary displayed in September 2015.

He has been the recipient of several awards during his career including one distinction in particular for his work in museums. He was awarded the Frank Newman Civic Fellowship Award in April 2013 for his work and dedication to area museums.

He remains very active not only on a local level but involved with state organizations in membership in leadership roles. He currently holds the following involvements across the state and county. He has served on the Adjunct Faculty at NEO A&M College teaching courses in American History since Spring 2017.

• Oklahoma Museums Association Board of Directors District 2 Representative
• Oklahoma Route 66 Association
• Jefferson Highway Association
• Oklahoma Historical Society
• American Alliance of Museums
• Phi Alpha Theta
• Afton High School Alumni Association Vice President
• The Friends of the Coleman Vice-President
• Miami Kiwanis Club
• Ottawa County Genealogical Society
• Madison County, Ark. Genealogical and Historical Society

Mr. Boyd enjoys sharing the rich and diverse history of Ottawa County and Northeast Oklahoma with visitors and patrons of our museum and to teach others about our ancestors and our area. Miami and Ottawa County has a strong and influential past with a promising and prospering future.

When he is not at the museum he enjoys spending time with his family on trips traveling, fishing, or taking adventures all across Oklahoma and the U.S. He is married to his lovely wife, Kylee and they have 2 amazing children with another on the way. A son, Eli and a daughter, Nova. They are expecting another daughter Ella in November 2021.