The Idaho Museum of International Diaspora (IMID) was founded in 2018 by Dr. Palina Louangketh [‘loo-on-gate’], a former refugee from Laos into Boise, Idaho in 1981. Idaho is her home. As a Lao-American, finding a special way to give back to the community that welcomed and embraced her family has been a childhood dream. Her journey to explore innovative collaboration in meaningful ways to honor and celebrate diversity later evolved into her vision of a museum founded on the principles of a welcoming community. In June 2018, she wrote her vision that evolved into the framework for a museum concept founded on diaspora in which she called the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora. Its acronym spells IMID and is commonly pronounced, eye-mid. As the founder and CEO / Executive Director of the IMID, Dr. Louangketh turned her vision into reality on February 10, 2019 when the IMID became a nonprofit corporation. 

She completed her Bachelor of Science and Master of Health Science at Boise State University and holds a professional doctorate – Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) degree – from Regent University, School of Business and Leadership (Virginia Beach, VA) with a concentration in Strategic Foresight. In addition to managing the IMID, Dr. Louangketh teaches at Boise State University in the Honors College, College of Health Sciences, and University Foundations Program.
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In early 2025, Dr. Louangketh received the prestigious Fulbright award (2025) by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board – a 12-member board appointment by the President of the United States. She served as a US Fulbright Specialist in Slovakia (September 2025) working with Matej Bel University (MBU) in Banská Bystrica to provide strategic leadership consultation aligned to the goals of the EMERGE (Empowering the Margins of Europe through Regional and Global Engagement) initiative of the European University Alliance, which involves evolving both instructional and curriculum design to support pedagogical transformation across schools in eight European countries
 
What is diaspora? | Diaspora in Idaho