I write about my search for solace in art and nature, lessons learned often in the most unexpected ways.
I serve and facilitate by applying lessons learned to issues we face, as we navigate the present and future of museums for visitors and for those of us who work within these cherished places.
she/her/hers
Director, LongHouse Reserve
CEO & President, NYBG
Deputy Director, The Met
Curator of American Art, The Met
PhD, CUNY // MA UCLA // BA U of I, Chicago // Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership, Columbia Business School // Certificate in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Brown University
Board member: American Alliance of Museums // American Public Gardens Association // Omega Institute for Holistic Studies Stewardship Council
Museums and public gardens—-keepers of art, science, plants, hopes and history—are vital to America’s infrastructure of education, health, and economic growth. Now more than ever, the comfort and community created by viewing art, listening to music, walking in nature is essential to our lives. We gather in these spaces for shared experience and reinvigoration of our spirit. The value proposition of cultural institutions regards human wellness with care. We create social prescriptions for cultural and natural observation that encourages creativity, curiosity, and community.
I have lived these beliefs and have deployed my growth and resilience mindset into organizational behavior in top art and science institutions. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the New York Botanical Garden, I served through major transitions by championing collective intelligence of staff and board and meeting each challenge with grace and purpose.
At The Met, I rose from summer intern to Deputy Director, immersing myself in the vital importance of museum work in our world. As the leader of 27 departments and over 400 staff—curatorial, conservation and scientific research, libraries, education, publications, and digital—I worked with commitment and strategy toward the common purpose of shaping the collection, putting on superb exhibitions, managing the facility, advancing the institution, and enriching a diverse and inclusive visitor experience.
In 2018, I took over the New York Botanical Garden as ninth CEO and President, the first woman to hold the position in its 127 year history. A 250 acre campus of art and nature with nearly 500 staff, NYBG faced a major leadership transition and growth opportunities in art and science. In just two years, I developed a long-range art exhibition plan with vital educational programs and new digital content, drafted an agenda for increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, heightened the garden’s role in the botanical and horticultural dimensions of climate change and human wellness, and expanded the urban gardening program in our region. With devoted colleagues, we managed the challenges of the pandemic and saw the Garden to reopening in summer 2020, staff intact, budget balanced, and visitors returning.
Now, as Director of LongHouse Reserve, I am working with board and staff to fully understand the life and work of founder Jack Lenor Larsen (1927-2020), and to manifest a newly open place as one that includes everyone, open and equitable. We are an institute of learning, a museum of art and design, and a place of learning for all, using art and nature to teach lessons of creativity, resilience, and understanding. The gardens inspire human life, the house and collections bring awareness to self and nature, and the program offers myriad opportunities for exploration of design, craft, sculpture, and our connection to beauty. LongHouse is poised at the intersection of human, natural, and creative life, a space where our shoulders drop, our minds clear, and we can focus on our sense of stability and calm in an ever changing world.