Dr. Palina Louangketh is an entrepreneur in the museum sector. She is a former refugee from Laos into Idaho, U.S.A. since 1981 and currently serves as the Advisor for the Idaho Lao Community. Her family’s two-year journey of uncertainty from war-torn Laos during the Vietnam era conflict and into Idaho has inspired her vision towards an innovative approach to honor the human journey on a global scale. As the Founder and Executive Director of the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora (IMID – pronounced ‘eye mid’), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, she is passionate about connecting the community to the cultures of the world through cultural art, music, literature, film, food, and other creative platforms.

Because she lives, breathes, and speaks strategy, Dr. Louangketh is comfortable in complex and changing environments. She holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) degree from the School of Business and Leadership (Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA) with a concentration in Strategic Foresight in global context. An alumna of Boise State University, she completed both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Health Science. Committed to her Bronco roots, she teaches in the College of Health Sciences and the University Foundations Program at Boise State. Additionally, she designed courses aligned to the IMID’s Global Diaspora Curriculum in the Honors College at Boise State and teaches as a Professor of Multicultural Studies. Learn more at www.idahomid.org.