Before joining the Museum, Crujeiras served as Executive Director of Cultural Affairs at Miami Dade College providing direction and strategic oversight to its acclaimed cultural institutions including Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, Live Arts Miami, the National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower, and other historical cultural venues, serving almost 400,000 people every year. With a passion for storytelling and community building, Crujeiras has more than 20 years of experience in journalism and arts management.  Additionally, she has worked in academia, private and public sectors, directed strategy for organizations at all levels, including Congress, the State Department, and the White House.

A fervent advocate of the self-determination of informed communities, Natalia has led projects that educate and engage people in closed societies around the world. As Chief Content Officer at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, she captained efforts to circumvent censorship, support independent journalists and entrepreneurs, and expand access to free internet in Cuba and Venezuela.

Crujeiras is a 2021 USA Eisenhower Fellow and has served on the Executive Board of the New World School of the Arts, was a Governor for The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Suncoast Chapter, has served as mentor for Big Brother, Big Sister of America, and was a volunteer for Girls Scouts of Tropical Florida. Crujeiras holds a MA in Journalism from the University of Miami and a Magna Cum Laude BA in Visual Arts and Communications from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She lives in Miami with her husband, two children, her mom and biggest cheerleader, and their adopted pup Skyler.