MOLAA Hires Christine Brabender as Vice President of Development as Museum Continues to Expand its Program Offerings

LONG BEACH — The Museum of Latin American Art welcomes Christine Brabender as the new vice president of development. In her new role, Ms. Brabender will engage existing and potential collaborators to support MOLAA by overseeing and structuring compelling opportunities to positively impact the museum’s long-term success. She will report directly to MOLAA’s President & CEO Dr. Lourdes Ramos.

“As MOLAA becomes an internationally recognized institution known for provoking admiration and intrigue through its exhibitions and programs, we needed someone with Christine’s experience and finesse to help us generate support and strategic partnerships to bring in the support necessary to continue to expand our programs and impact and grow our influence,” said Dr. Ramos, President & CEO, MOLAA.

Following an international search conducted by the Arts Consulting Group, Brabender rose to the top of the list from New Zealand, where she recently served as the director of development at the University of Waikato.

Brabender is a collage artist and development leader with expertise in fundraising, sponsorship, communications, marketing and events. Her consulting work has included campaign case statements for the Art Institute of Chicago and the Gene Siskel Film Center. She was formerly vice president of external relations at the Notebaert Nature Museum and held campaign roles at DePaul University and Children’s Memorial (now Lurie Children’s) in Chicago. Most recently, Christine worked in New Zealand where she led fundraising and engagement for two universities, establishing best practice advancement capability and international profile. She also served on the advisory board of Dance & Arts Therapy NZ.

“Art has been an inspiring lantern on my path,” says Brabender. “Serving as Vice President of Development at MOLAA is a dream opportunity and I’m fully aware of just how special it is given current local and global challenges impacting art museums around the world.

Prior to her work in New Zealand, Brabender consulted for the Art Institute of Chicago where she crafted an internal case for support for the Museum’s $350,000,000 Building of the Century Campaign to solicit six, seven and eight-figure gifts from the board of trustees for the Modern Wing designed by Renzo Piano. The case highlighted the curatorial, architectural and design ambitions of the Modern Wing, the prominence it would give to the modern and contemporary art collections and temporary exhibitions, key moments in the museum’s history, and the aspirations and legacy the project would achieve for the visiting public, the city of Chicago, and beyond.