Christina Yang appointed as Executive Director

The AAMC & AAMC Foundation Board of Trustees has appointed Christina Yang as the next Executive Director. Yang brings nearly three decades of experience as a curator and program director working independently and at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives. Yang will begin at AAMC part-time starting June 23, 2025, collaborating closely with Interim Executive Director Minna Lee, and will assume her position full-time on September 2, 2025. The search was led by MS&R Senior Search Consultant, Suzanne Tan. 

Yang most recently served as Chief Curator at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and as Deputy Director for Engagement at the Williams College Museum of Art. At the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, she led Public Programs from 2005 through 2019, including curating interdisciplinary global projects. Her early career was shaped by curatorial work at The Kitchen and the Queens Museum of Art. 

Based in New York City, Yang is currently working as an independent curator, writer, and educator, including as a regular contributor to the Brooklyn Rail, while completing her Ph.D. She is a specialist in global contemporary art with a focus on the Asian diaspora, social practice, performance, and experimental genres. Throughout her career, Yang has been an advocate for equitable access and new curatorial practices, and she has mentored emerging museum professionals, focusing on students of color. She teaches in the School of Visual Arts Master of Arts program in Curatorial Practice and has been an adjunct lecturer/recitation leader at Bennington College, New York University, California College of Arts and Crafts, and Long Island University.

Yang has served on the Board of the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries as well as of Women & Performance, a journal of feminist theory. She is a Curatorial Ambassador for the new biannual Arrival Art Fair in North Adams, Massachusetts, opening in June 2025, and she will earn her Ph.D. in performance studies from the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University in May 2025. She holds an M.A. from Williams College and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Peter A. Mello appointed Executive Director

The Board of Trustees of the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA, has named Peter A. Mello as its new Executive Director. Mello succeeds Charles Weyerhaeuser, who has held the position for over 50 years. Mello began his tenure at the ACM on September 9. The nationwide search was led by Senior Search Consultant Lora Urbanelli.  

Mello joins the museum from WaterFire Providence, where he has been the Managing Director, co-CEO, and a Board Member since 2011. WaterFire Providence is a public art experience that draws thousands of visitors to the rivers and parks in downtown Providence, RI. 

In addition to the large public art event, Mello led the project team that created the WaterFire Arts Center, a 37,000-square-foot, multi-use arts center. He led the concept development, planning, design, and construction of the center, which opened in 2017. Mello also led the team that develops the exhibitions, programming, partnerships, and revenue generation strategies for the center. 

A strong supporter of young artists, Mello created WaterFire Accelerate, a professional development program for artists under 30, and ArtLab@WaterFire, a leadership and workforce development program for underserved high school students. 

 With the next Executive Director in place, Charles Weyerhaeuser will take on the new role of Chief Historian of the Art Complex Museum. In this position, he will collaborate with the museum’s Collections staff to document the history of museum, its collection, and additional acquisition details of key objects in the collection. 

Jackie Rocha Appointed Executive Director

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Rocha as Executive Director at the Saint-Gaudens Memorial in Cornish, NH, a historic site and living memorial to the life and legacy of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Rocha’s hire culminates a nationwide search led by Senior Search Consultant Dan Yaeger for MS&R. Rocha begins work on January 2, 2025.

Rocha’s career began in New York City at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, a nonprofit organization that augments National Park Service operations at the iconic site. For fifteen years, Jackie served as Director of the American Family Immigration History Center, a department of the Foundation that has long been at the core of the Ellis Island experience and helps about 100,000 people per year research their family histories. She subsequently held senior development positions with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, American Ancestors, and most recently, the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. 

“I am eager to join Saint-Gaudens Memorial and raise the profile of the artist and promote his living legacy,” said Rocha. “As a resident of the Upper Valley, I am aware of the wonderful work this organization does to support the cultural fabric of the region.”

“We are pleased to have Jackie join us in this important leadership role,” said SGM Board President Thayer Tolles. “She has years of experience with nonprofit fundraising, outreach, and operations that align well with our needs. She will play a pivotal role in building our impact both regionally and nationally, engaging audiences in our exhibitions, concerts, and programs, as well as augmenting support for the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park.” Rick Kendall, superintendent of the Park, said, “I am pleased to welcome Jackie and look forward to working with her to carry the partnership between SGM and the Park to new levels.”

Magdalena Moskalewicz appointed to the position of Chief Curator and Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Magdalena Moskalewicz to the position of Chief Curator and Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Sheldon Museum of Art.  Moskalewicz was selected for the Sheldon position after a national search led by Suzanne Tan, senior search consultant at Museum Search & Reference.

Moskalewicz is an art historian, professor, and an internationally recognized curator, as well as a widely published researcher of modern and contemporary art. Most recently, she was Chief Curator of FRONT International, a contemporary art triennial based in Cleveland. Before that she served as a full-time visiting professor and adjunct associate professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as a visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon University School of Art, and as an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In her native Poland, Moskalewicz was a visiting curator at the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw and served as curator of the Polish Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, among other appointments. Moskalewicz was awarded both a Doctorate and a Master’s degree in Art History from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. 

“Magdalena brings to the Museum deep expertise and a compelling, progressive vision,” said Susan Longhenry, director of Sheldon Museum of Art. “Her commitment to simultaneously honoring and reframing Sheldon's collection, and to interrogating the art history canon, will take the Museum to the next level of scholarship, engagement, and impact.”

Moskalewicz has stated her interest in developing exhibitions and programs at Sheldon that “reflect the complexity of America today: globally connected and relevant,” aiming to “use art as a trigger that speaks to the moment,” and “delivering socially responsive curating that is stimulating and thought-provoking.”

She began her appointment in January 2025, joining a senior leadership team composed of the Museum’s Director and the newly hired Chief Curator and Associate Director for Learning, Engagement, and Public Practice.

Devon Kurtz appointed Executive Director

The New Hampshire Boat Museum in Moultonborough, NH has appointed Devon Kurtz as Executive Director. The national search was led by MS&R senior search consultant Dan Yaeger. Kurtz will begin work in April 2025.

Kurtz brings more than twenty years of experience in nonprofit leadership, museum administration, and community engagement. He joins NHBM after serving as Executive Director of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Northbridge, MA, where he spearheaded transformative projects, including the development of the Worcester Heritage Center and innovative interpretive programs that engaged inclusive audiences across 25 communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Before his tenure in the Blackstone Valley, Kurtz held positions at several prominent cultural institutions, including the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA, where he oversaw education and public programming, and the Concord Museum in Concord, MA, where he directed education and interpretation initiatives. His career also includes experience at Old Sturbridge Village, where he designed and implemented interpretive programs for more than 300,000 annual visitors.

As Executive Director, Kurtz will lead NHBM’s efforts to complete its $4-million capital campaign and oversee the buildout and phased opening of its new 24,000-square-foot facility, which was constructed in 2024 in Moultonborough, relocating the main museum site from Wolfeboro, NH.

"Devon’s proven track record in museum leadership and his ability to build meaningful connections with stakeholders make him an ideal fit for the New Hampshire Boat Museum," said Jaime Laurent, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees. "We are excited for the fresh perspectives he brings to our community and the institution." Kurtz said he is “honored to join NHBM at such a pivotal moment in its history. The museum’s mission to preserve and celebrate the state’s boating heritage is inspiring, and I look forward to working with the dedicated staff, board, and community to ensure its continued success and sustainability."