Born in Barcelona to a filmmaker father and lawyer mother, Nicanor trained as an architectural historian and theorist before pursuing museum studiesa path that led her to past positions at the Guggenheim, V&A, Norman Foster Foundation, and Rice University. I thought I would be an architect, but I was also very interested in cultural diplomacy, she recalls. I was also interested in larger systems of cities and how cities work and how those stories are told. The transition to the world of design and the decorative arts has been a pivot. From the larger scale you can think of the smaller scale, she notes. Im an architectural historian. But I am also a generalist. I thrive in the immensity of what we have.Nicanor on a ladder beside a 1999 Slice Chair by Matthias Bengtsson.Photo: Jeremy LiebmanVintage staircase models.Photo: Jeremy LiebmanIf expanding access to Cooper Hewitts collection is now a top priority, so too is collecting new ideas. We want to bring people together and provide forums for exchange, Nicanor explains, speaking to dual ambitions of growing public programs and improving the visitor experience. We are thinking about how people encounter the space, and how that continuesand happens simultaneously online. Above all else, she hopes the museum emphasizes the important role design plays in our everyday lives. Design is not neutral. It imposes feelings and actions, shaping our decisions.Just one object, Nicanor emphasizes, can tell many different stories.