The COVID-19 pandemic cause global social and cultural disruptions that caused institutions like museums to suddenly close. Stay-at-home orders forced organizations to restructure their now-remote staff, laying off, furloughing, or firing entire departments like museum education. The literature in the field suggests museum educators were fired or laid off at a higher rate than staff in other departments. It also bears that museum educators were more likely to be the staff that pivoted to virtual experiences during the lockdowns (Ennes et al., 2021; Krantz & Downey, 2021). That seeming contradiction guided my inquiry to better understand the toll this crisis took on art museum educators (AMEs), the scholarly field, and the profession. The comprehensive literature review showed who AMEs are and the challenges they face regarding their profession. The study was guided by a conceptual model based on overlapping feminist systems theory, participatory culture, and the sociology of expertise (Stephens, 2009; Jenkins, 2009; Brady, 2018). I worked with eight AMEs from mid-sized art museums in the US to generate the data through three phases: initial narratives, semi-structured interviews, and group discussions. I used the text, conversations, images, and media to present the findings as amalgam characters in fictive vignettes, further enhancing anonymity. I used narrative and arts-based inquiry methodologies, and thematic and visual narrative analysis to generate findings which led to two overall results. A primary result was many AMEs left their museum, and one left the field due to distrust in their institution to continue supporting their digital efforts. A secondary result was colleague support was a stronger influence than prior experience with digital programming, pointing to a participatory concept of expertise. AMEs have shown they can do a lot with a little, and support from their institution is key to their success. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]