International Museum of Art & Science
McAllen, TX
https://theimasonline.org/welcome/
2019
Ann Fortescue appointed President and Executive Director
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ann Fortescue who will be the new President and Executive Director of the International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS). Fortescue will assume the duties of President and Executive Director in mid-July 2019. Dan Keegan, Senior Search Consultant at Museum Search & Reference ran the nationwide search for IMAS.
The IMAS Board of Directors unanimously appointed Ann Fortescue as the museum's next President and Executive Director, replacing Serena Pandos who left in January to become the Executive Director of the Louisiana Art & Science Museum in Baton Rouge, LA. IMAS Board Chair Eryn Reddell Wingert said, "We are very excited to announce Ann's appointment. Ann comes to us with a wealth of experience in key leadership areas that will help propel IMAS forward. Ann is the perfect leader to champion the multidisciplinary mission of the Museum and has a proven record of dedication to community and families."
Fortescue will relocate from Springfield, OH, where she has served since 2011 as Executive Director of the Springfield Museum of Art. At the Springfield Museum she led a financial turnaround, the acquisition of the Museum facility through a capital campaign, and secured reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Prior to her position at the Springfield Museum, she was the Director of Education and Visitor Services at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Before that she was Assistant Curator of Education at the history museum of the Springfield, MA, Museums Association. She is a native of New York City. An experienced fundraiser and grant writer, Fortescue also brings national-level museum connections and serves as a grant reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences and is an accreditation reviewer for AAM. She is a Getty Leadership Institute Fellow.
She holds a Master of Science in Museum Education from Bank Street College, New York, NY, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Bates College, Lewiston, ME.
Fortescue said, "My husband Jeff and I are thrilled to be moving to McAllen and look forward to becoming part of the community. I am eager to advance the great work done by those who have led IMAS before me."
Fortescue was selected following a national search guided by Museum Search & Reference. The search committee was chaired by Board President Eryn Reddell Wingert and consisted of IMAS Board members Dr. Steven Block, Lesley Chavez, Jeri Clark, Juan Garcia, and Ernesto Sepulveda.
Many people helped with this search as nominators, references or candidates, and Dan and Marilyn are grateful to each of them.