Evenings with O’Keeffe: How Diverse Pathways Lead to Museum Careers

November will see the launch of Evenings with O’Keeffe, a free, in-person series of thematic conversations that intersect with Georgia O’Keeffe’s life and legacy. In addition to including voices from diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and lived experiences, the EWOK program will also provide an environment where we can think critically and collectively about complex issues that have relevance to the “here and now.”  

If you or someone you know is interested in working in the museum field, join us to learn more about the varied paths that lead to museum jobs and the diverse sets of skills and experiences required to make a museum thrive. 

For the debut of our new Evenings with O’Keeffe series, hear from five women who currently work in the museum ecosystem about the experiences that led them to where they are today.

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This event is free to attend. Please register in advance, as space is limited. Please email contact@gokm.org or call 505-496-1000 for assistance with event registration. 

Speakers:

Angie Chandler | Director of Learning and Engagement, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Angie Chandler (she/her/they) is a creative strategist from Brooklyn, New York. In Brooklyn, she received both her love for the arts and her B.A. in Education and History from Brooklyn College.  Angie’s time as a classroom educator continues to fuel her passion for arts education, advocacy, and equity.  As a first-generation American, her Caribbean and AfroLatina heritages inspire a focus on global perspectives. An arts administrator and storyteller, she’s focused on increasing community engagement, curating innovative public programming, and introducing new voices to institutions.

Angie has led educational initiatives and cultivated community engagement at several spaces including the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture and the McColl Center for Arts and Innovation both in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the San Diego Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Dept of Art in Southern California.  Angie has also spent several years as a consultant supporting artists and arts organizations advance equity and strategic innovation via talks, workshops, trainings, and more through her firm Cultivating Culture Consulting. She is currently the O’Keeffe’s Director of Learning and Engagement, and a graduate student at Minnneapolis College of Art and Design studying Creative Leadership.

Devin E. Geraci | Associate Director of Operations, University of New Mexico Art Museum

Devin E. Geraci (she/her) is the Associate Director of Operations at the UNM Art Museum, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received her BS in Anthropology from Florida State University and completed her MBA and MA in Museum Studies at the University of New Mexico. Her academic studies blended organizational behavior concepts into museum work, with a particular focus on employee motivation, job design, and leadership development.

Devin has an extensive background in a variety of museum roles. She began her career in museum education and has since worked in areas including visitor services, event planning and implementation, marketing and communications, and operations. She has previously worked at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art & Science and the Museum of Florida History, in Tallahassee, Florida, and the The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

At the UNM Art Museum, Devin oversees the administrative operations of the museum—including facilities, finances, human resources, and marketing. She designed and continues to evaluate the UNMAM Museum Assistant Program to provide impactful experiences for student employees within the museum. In the past year, Devin has secured substantial grant funding for the UNM Art Museum, including awards from New Mexico’s Creative Industries Division and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Devin is also an active member of the Association of Academic Museums & Galleries (AAMG), the leading educational and professional organization for academic museums, galleries, and collections. She is currently working alongside the AAMG Conference Committee to prepare for hosting the 2025 Annual Conference at the University of New Mexico.

Meredith Jones | Head of Visitor Experience, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Among the highlights of a long and admittedly weird CV, Meredith Jones has sold knives at William Sonoma, taught new Mercedes-Benz owners how to use their car’s digital interface, and held the titles of “Sweets Girl” and “Cheese Girl,” though not at the same time. She holds a WSET Level 1 Wine Certification, has taught English in South Korea, and attempted (unsuccessfully) to build a granola empire. She served as the General Manager for a fancy coffeehouse in Portland, Oregon for half a decade, yielding both an impractical amount of arcane coffee knowledge and a lot of experience interacting with the general public.

These varied experiences helped set the stage for Meredith’s current role as the Head of Visitor Experience for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Now, Meredith is passionate about creating a top-notch experience for the Museum’s 150,000 annual visitors, as well as fostering an engaging, rewarding work environment for the front-facing teams across the organization.

Bess Murphy | Luce Curator of Art and Social Practice, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Bess Murphy joined the O’Keeffe in 2022, where she oversees exhibitions, programs, and initiatives bridging the Museum and artists and community. Previously, she worked for eight years at the Coe Center for the Arts as Creative Director and Curator, where she worked with leading Native artists, community members, and students to develop programs and exhibitions. At the Coe, she worked on many artist-driven projects including the social engagement exhibition Giving Growth with Eliza Naranjo Morse and Jamison Chas Banks and the immersive project FUNCTION with Cannupa Hanska Luger. She also directed the Coe’s education programming. Bess received her PhD in Art History, with a focus on Native American 20th century art, from the University of Southern California. She has taught Art History and Museum Studies at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design and the Institute of American Indian Arts and has held positions at galleries, museums, art centers, and alternative artist-led art spaces.

Gina Hartmann | Head Curator, Ray Drew & Kennedy Galleries and University Art Collections, New Mexico Highlands University

Gina Von Hartmann is a curator and working artist living in Las Vegas, New Mexico, after living 12 years in Portland, OR, and living a spell in California, New York, and across the pond in Great Britain. Originally from Cincinnati Ohio, Von Hartmann received a BFA from The Art Academy of Cincinnati one of the last Museum Schools at the time. Von Hartmann considers herself a Creative and resists using the label Artist. Though receiving a Major in Sculpture, Von Hartmann has spent equal time in both the fine-arts world and advertising/marketing throughout her career.

Von Hartmann is currently the Head Curator of the Ray Drew & Kennedy Galleries and university art collections at New Mexico Highlands University. Having a background in museum and fine art studies Von Hartmann has worked in commercial galleries, museums, and nonprofits. She also co-founded a successful advertising studio in Cincinnati, OH working in the business for over a decade before returning to the fine-art world.

Von Hartmann’s personal work has been on display across the U.S. in New York, Oregon, California, Ohio, Kentucky, the South West, and internationally in Kenya and South Korea. Her work is found in private collections in South Korea, New York, California, Washington D.C., Ohio, Indiana, Arizona, and New Mexico.