Jason Mancini currently serves as executive director of Connecticut (CT) Humanities, a role he has held since 2018. He leads the statewide organization’s efforts to strengthen partnerships, broaden access to cultural programming, and advance public humanities initiatives, including placemaking and integrative digital projects, across Connecticut.
A scholar, educator, and advocate, Mancini is co‑founder of the Akomawt Educational Initiative and previously served as executive director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. His career has been defined by dedicated collaboration with Indigenous communities in southern New England, Alaska, Hawai‘i, and New Zealand, with a focus on elevating Indigenous rights, histories, and visibility in public spaces. His academic work explores Indigenous social networks, maritime labor, migration, citizenship, and activism, as well as efforts to re‑indigenize public history and education.
Mancini is a visiting associate professor of slavery and justice at Brown University’s Simmons Center and has taught anthropology and history at the University of Connecticut, Connecticut College, and Sea Education Association. He also serves in numerous statewide advisory and leadership roles, including the gubernatorial‑appointed vice chair of the America 250 | CT Commission, a member of the Connecticut Native American Heritage Advisory Council, Scientist‑in‑Residence at Mystic Aquarium, and advisor and board member for programs at the University of Connecticut and Everyday Democracy.
He has a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Connecticut, with expertise in the archaeology and ethnohistory of New England. His published and forthcoming research explores hidden Indigenous histories and survivance across the Northeast.