“Marilyn Hoffman and the MS&R team did an exceptional job for us; it greatly exceeded my expectations for working with a search firm. They provided OUTSTANDING value across the entire lifecycle of the search, provided us with exceptional candidates, and helped us make a great hire. Their personal touch and effort were exceptional. As one of our Board members put it: ‘In my 40 years of working with non-profits, this was by far the best search experience I’ve ever had.’”

“Museum Search and Reference is a firm that is exceptionally knowledgeable about the museum search processes, potential candidates, organizational documentation and candidate screening. Marilyn’s leadership skills in facilitation, communication and relationship management provided a smooth and effective process that resulted in a very high caliber final candidate. Her thorough yet concise finalist dossiers were instrumental in providing a foundation for candidate selection in an incredibly timely manner. We highly recommend her services and would engage her again if ever needed in this organization or another!”

““Museum Search & Reference has a consistently deep understanding of our goals and candidate relevance.  They have “can do” persistence and strong research and communication skills.”

“It was crucial for us that public communications about our search would convey our organization’s need for leadership that respects scholarship, engages the public, and effectively manages its own organization. MS&R helped us accomplish that accurately and effectively. They brought experience with executive director searches for an organization of our size and nature, but also in several ways gracefully adjusted their customary process in response to our requests. Their consultation resulted in our hiring an extraordinarily fine new executive director.”

“Connie was thorough in her approach, taking time to understand what we were looking for in a new Executive Director. That preparation was helpful in identifying a strong candidate pool well-matched with our needs. Her commitment to the success of our search was reflected in all phases of it. We couldn’t have asked for a more professional approach and outcome. This is the second time we used Museum Search & Reference for an ED search. We are pleased we went in this direction again for this search. ”

“The members of the FAM Search Committee all feel that Museum Search & Reference (MS&R) staff and process achieved our goals at very high standards. In my 40+ years of business experience, I have never worked with a firm whose dedication to success was achieved with the professional ethics as MS&R.”

“The services Marilyn Hoffman and staff provided were uniquely effective. Marilyn was particularly dedicated to finding out our real objectives and then meeting them…by exhaustively discovering the best candidates and making sure that their representations were true.”

“The search resulted in the hiring of an excellent new museum director. The person we eventually hired was not really looking for a new job. It was Marilyn’s connection to and knowledge of the museum world together with her active recruiting efforts that matched our museum’s need with the personality and skills of the person we hired.

To anyone who is considering engaging Museum Search & Reference for an executive search but is wondering if they can afford the fee, I would say, ‘You really can’t afford not to.’”

“Lora Urbanelli does an outstanding job leading a search. First, she is so knowledgeable because of her background in art museums. Then, she provides outstanding help interviewing people and developing the job description. After that, she spends an enormous amount of time identifying and interviewing potential candidates. The materials for the search committee are thorough, extensive, and well-done. Along the way she is very helpful with any difference of opinions among search committee members. She does an outstanding job presenting candidates, managing the in-person interviews and the committee evaluation. Finally, she is also very helpful in negotiating the final package. She knows what is reasonable in the museum world. I would hire her again in a minute!”