HOOD MUSEUM - Key Persons
Abby Smith began her internship at the Hood Museum of Art in the summer of 2021. In 2019, she joined the Hood Museum's Museum Club and continues to be a member. Abby has worked at the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Dartmouth College Fund, and the bG Gallery in Santa Monica.
Alex Bortolot joined the Hood Museum's staff as Deputy Director in January 2023. Bortolot graduated from Harvard University with a BA in the history of art and architecture and holds a PhD in art history from Columbia University. An impassioned champion of museums and the communities they serve, Bortolot invests deeply in understanding audiences and establishing cultures of transparency, collaboration, and experimentation. Prior to his appointment at the Hood Museum of Art, he served for the past ten years as Content Strategist at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. There, he worked laterally across the museum's divisions and departments, leading strategic thinking regarding the presentation of its collection of nearly 100,000 artworks within its 140 galleries through special exhibitions, digital platforms and databases, and communications and publications. Bortolot is also a leading expert on the arts of the Makonde people of Mozambique and Tanzania, and his dissertation on that subject was recognized as an exceptional contribution to the field by the Arts Council of the African Studies Association. He is no stranger to the Dartmouth community, having worked as a visiting lecturer on African art in the Art History Department and as an assistant curator of special projects at the Hood Museum from 2008 to 2009.
Job Titles:
- Associate Curator of Photography
Alisa is an art historian specializing in the history of photography with a focus on race and sexuality. Most recently she was a curatorial research associate at the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University. She has been an independent curator, a Romare Bearden Minority Graduate Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum, and a Dangler Intern and curatorial researcher in the Art Institute of Chicago's Department of Photography. She is completing her Ph.D. in art history at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a concentration in gender and women's studies; she holds MAs from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of New Orleans as well as a BA from Bryn Mawr College.
Job Titles:
- Head of Communications, Content, and Brand
Alison began working at the Hood Museum of Art in summer 2008 as an intern while attending Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. During her internship, she was mentored by Bart Thurber, then-curator of European art, and Sharon Reed, then-public relations coordinator. After the internship, she continued to volunteer at the museum on a monthly basis. Alison graduated cum laude from Keene State College in 2009 with an individualized major in art history and a minor in studio art. In February 2010, Alison accepted the renewable term position of public relations assistant. In May 2016, she was promoted to Public Relations Coordinator, and in August 2020 she was promoted to Digital Content Manager. In September 2023, Alison was promoted to Head of Communications, Content, and Brand.
Amelia Kahl works with faculty and students to study and learn from original works of art in numerous ways including managing the Bernstein Center for Object Study (BCOS), partnering with faculty on curricular-focused shows, and running the museum's student internship program. Amelia teaches across the collections and leads co-curricular programs including Museum Collecting 101. Her curatorial work includes All Dolled Up (2019), Resonant Spaces: Sound Art at Dartmouth (2017, co-curated with Spencer Topel) and Water Ways: Tension and Flow (2015). Amelia is a 2001 graduate of Dartmouth and created the first A Space for Dialogue exhibition. She taught art history at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland and worked at the National Law Enforcement Museum before returning to Dartmouth in the fall of 2010. She has a M.A. in art history from Williams College and is ABD at the University of Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Head of Building Operations and Security
Andrew Turner joined the security staff at the museum on a part-time basis in August 2015 and came onboard full time in October 2016. In December 2017 he accepted the postion of Office / Scheduling Assistant, in 2018 he accepted the position of Visitor Services Coordinator, in October 2019 he became the Visitor Services Manager, and in May 2022 he accepted the position Security / Buildings Manager. In the spring of 2023, Andrew was promoted to Head of Building Operations and Security.
Job Titles:
- Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Academic Programming
- Associate Curator of Academic Programming
Elizabeth (Beth) Rice Mattison joined the staff in July 2021 as the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Curator of Academic Programming, where she serves as the liaison to Dartmouth faculty and facilitates the integration of the museum's collection with the College's curriculum. As an experienced art historian, she's committed to engaging diverse audiences with objects to elicit critical thinking and foster transformative encounters with art. In 2020, Beth completed her Ph.D. in art history at the University of Toronto; she also holds an M.A. and B.A. in the history of art from Yale University. She has held positions at several institutions, including the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies, Victoria University in the University of Toronto; the Musée du Louvre; the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; and the Yale University Art Gallery.
Job Titles:
- Communications Coordinator
Anna Kaye has been the Communications Coordinator at the Hood Museum since the fall of 2023. She is responsible for press coordination and media outreach, the museum's marketing and advertising strategies, and supports the production of all print and digital publications. Originally from central Tennessee, Anna Kaye joined the visitor services team at the Hood Museum during the summer of 2019, was promoted to Public Relations Assistant in May 2021, and transitioned into her current role in September 2023. Anna Kaye has a bachelor of science in history from Taylor University.
Job Titles:
- Associate Curator of Collections
Ashley is an art historian who specializes in Italian Renaissance and Baroque art, with a focus on sculpture and architecture associated with the cult of saints and relics. Ashley comes to the Hood Museum from the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, where she most recently was the coordinator for administrative and academic projects. Ashley completed her PhD in art history at the University of Kansas, where she also earned her MA. She holds a BA in English and art history from Texas Christian University. In both her museum practice and her higher-education teaching experience, she centers works of art as sites of inquiry, interpretation, and connection in order to foster engagement with a variety of audiences.
Beatriz Yanes Martinez is the 2021-24 Hood Museum of Art Mutual Learning Fellow in the Curatorial and Exhibitions Department. Beatriz graduated from Carleton College with a BA in Latin American studies and as a former Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, they have explored the modes of resilience of Central American immigrants, the power of storytelling, the histories of migration and settlement of Central American immigrants in the East Coast. They have collaborated with the CUNY Research Foundation Testimonio's project, helping collect stories of immigrants impacted by state-led family separation. Her research and creative practice incorporate interdisciplinary elements combining poetry, photography, and storytelling around themes of diasporic resilience and art, queer studies, undocumented resilience, geographies, space and place, and revolutionary art. Beatriz interned at the National Museum of American History where she researched the ways in which undocumented immigrant artists utilize social media tools to foster collaboration and create digital safe spaces. Prior to joining the Hood Museum of Art, Beatriz worked as a Community Fellow at Immigrant Justice Corps.
Christopher began work at the Hood Museum of Art in January 2014. He has lived in Vermont most of his life. He graduated from Green Mountain College (B.F.A.) and the Center for Cartoon Studies (M.F.A.). His previous jobs include screenprinter, sign maker, graphic artist and designer, streetcar conductor and historical interpreter with the National Parks Service, and cartographer with the National Interagency Fire Center.
Cynthia Gilliland has worked in the registrar's office at the Hood Museum of Art since 1991. Cynthia's primary focus is the care of the permanent collection and artwork in campus buildings. She also coordinates all arrangements for outgoing loans from the Hood to other institutions.
Job Titles:
- NAGPRA Research Assistant
Job Titles:
- Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs & Curator of Indigenous Art
Job Titles:
- Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Katie Coggins joined the Hood Museum of Art in the summer of 2022. As a museum educator, Katie teaches the museum's multiple-visit school programs for regional children. Katie graduated from Skidmore College with a dual major in history and political science. She completed her MA in public humanities at Brown University in the spring of 2022. Through her studies and internships, Katie has worked with the education departments of several museums including the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the MFA in Boston, and the Little Compton Historical Society. Working with elementary and middle school aged children, Katie's programs help students develop their critical thinking and social-emotional skills by centering artworks as opportunities for connections across history, world cultures, and contemporary issues.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Registrar for Exhibitions
Job Titles:
- Assistant to the Director and Advancement Manager
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Digital Platforms, Media and Archives
Job Titles:
- Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Job Titles:
- Collection Information and Digitization Assistant
Job Titles:
- Hood Foundation Curator of Education
Job Titles:
- Cultural Heritage Technical Developer to Advancing Pathways for Long - Term Collaboration
Job Titles:
- Programs and Events Manager
Job Titles:
- Chairman, Board of Advisors
Job Titles:
- Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director