Nick Appelbaum
President, Chief Executive Officer
Nick Appelbaum is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), the world’s largest museum planning and design practice, where he oversees the firm’s global creative and strategic direction. His expertise lies in the integration of storytelling and space, with a focus on creating spaces for shared public learning.
Since joining RAA nearly two decades ago, Nick has participated in every aspect of museum-making. Over that time, the firm has continued its work on landmark cultural projects, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and ongoing projects such as the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool and the UK Holocaust Memorial in London.
Today, under his leadership, RAA is advancing more than sixty projects worldwide. Nick is currently working on the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville, Florida, and the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. His past projects also include The People’s House: A White House Experience in Washington, D.C., as well as major initiatives for Jewish communities around the world, such as the first Jewish museum in India at Nariman House in Mumbai and the Lost Shtetl Museum in Lithuania, which reimagined the site of a former shtetl.
Nick was educated at Oxford and Harvard, holding a B.A. in Modern History and an M.Ed.