Noel Herden appointed as Executive Director

The Ellen Noël Art Museum (ENAM) has named Nicole Herden as its Executive Director. She began work on April 14. The national search was led by MS&R Senior Search Consultant, Dan Yaeger.

She most recently served as Executive Director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, where she ran a multidisciplinary organization with an accredited art museum, theater, and art school. Her previous experience includes Executive Director at the Museum of Nebraska Art as well as curatorial and collections roles at Boise Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, and Arizona State University Art Museum.

Herden is an accomplished museum executive with over twenty years of experience in leadership, curatorial practice, and institutional transformation.

“Nicole has a blend of skills in museum management, art scholarship, fundraising, and community building that are an excellent fit with our Museum,” ENAM Board President Karmen Bryant said. “Her leadership will help us move into our new facility and chart a course for the coming years.”

ENAM is currently constructing a new 36,000-square-foot facility set to open in late 2025, which has been funded through a $20-million capital campaign. Bryant cited Herden’s experience with large-scale museum construction projects and fundraising. “She checked all the boxes for us,” Bryant said.

In addition to opening the new museum and launching new exhibitions in the galleries, Herden is charged with leading a strategic-planning effort that focuses on new opportunities generated by the new facility, galvanizing community support, and leveraging the Museum’s status as a Smithsonian Affiliate and AAM-accredited institution to serve visitors and the community.

Scott O’Donnell appointed Executive Director

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Scott O’Donnell as Executive Director of the Museum of the Southwest. He will begin work on April 1, 2025. Dan Yaeger, Senior Search Consultant for Museum Search & Reference, led the national search.

O’Donnell brings more than 30 years of experience in organizational leadership, museum administration, and event management. Most recently, Scott served for eleven years as the Executive Director of Circus World, a 64-acre living-history museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, the historic headquarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Museum is the largest and most comprehensive circus museum in the world with more than 11,000 works of art, historic artifacts, and ephemera in addition to twice-daily seasonal circus performances.

In addition to his museum work, Scott served in leadership positions at Live Nation, an international entertainment and event-production company, where as Vice President of Festivals, he oversaw major music festivals, concerts, and venue operations around the country. He was also General Manager of the Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, as well as Vice President and General Manager of the Big Apple Circus, a nonprofit touring circus with an international following.

As Executive Director of MSW, O’Donnell will lead the Museum’s efforts to prepare for its 60th anniversary in 2026 with a new strategic plan and branding, an initiative to create a new Visitor Center to unify its campus of museums, and by leveraging the Museum’s status to serve visitors and the community as an institution accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

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.