FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art Announces Staff Changes Including New Development Director/Executive Director
Kansas City, MO / Overland Park, KS — The Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art (KCJMCA) announces the development of a new staff position and changes within its office beginning in September 2011. KCJMCA has hired Beti Weber Moskowitz as their new Development Director, a position created by the organization following the announcement of Executive Director Eileen Garry’s retirement in April of this year. Current KCJMCA Curator Marcus Cain will also succeed Garry as Executive Director of the organization in November 2011.
KCJMCA Announces New Development Director & New Executive Director
Beti Weber Moskowitz is now serving as Development Director of the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art (KCJMCA), a new position created at the non-profit arts organization after Executive Director Eileen Garry announced her retirement in April of this year, concluding 20 years of service. Moskowitzhad been a Community Resource Consultant, a seasonal position, with United Way of Greater Kansas City for the past three years, where she managed a series of successful fundraising campaigns.
“I have loved art since I took my first art history course as a college freshman. When I took a junior year study abroad program in Bruges, Belgium part of the adventure was travelling and visiting museums across Western Europe. This has become a wonderful avocation for my family whether at home or away. It’s really a dream come true to be able to use my areas of expertise at KCJMCA,” says Moskowitz.
Moskowitz was raised in Washington, PA, attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, graduating Cum Laude with a BA in Economics. She also attended Columbia University in New York City, where she graduated with an MBA in Marketing and Finance. She worked in New York City for nine years in a series of marketing positions, managing new and established products, before marrying Jules Moskowitz in 1986 and moving to Kansas City the same year. Together they have raised two children in Prairie Village, KS: David, 21 and now a Senior at Hendrix College in Conway, AR; and Alex, 19 and now a Freshman at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA.
After moving to Kansas City, Moskowitz worked at Horizon Group a small marketing consulting firm before hiring on at Hallmark Cards, where she worked for 10 years, first in New Product Development, and then strategic planning, focusing on trend analysis. Following this employment, Moskowitz became involved in the Briarwood Elementary School Parent-Teach Association, working closely with the Cultural Arts Program. She later served as the PTSA President for the Center for International Studies, located at Shawnee Mission South High School.
Moskowitz has also been active in Jewish organizations in Kansas City, serving on the board of the Women’s Division Jewish Federation and as volunteer and Co-Chair for Interfaith Luncheons of the National Council of Jewish Women, both in Overland Park, KS. Moskowitz is also the recipient of the National Council of Jewish Women Emerging Leader Award and the United Way of Greater Kansas City’s Mission Award.
Moskowitz joins KCJMCA amidst preparations for the organization’s seventh annual UrbanSuburban Exhibition and Art Auctionfundraising campaign, which is perhaps the busiest time of the year for the nonprofit. Organized over the entire year, KCJMCA’s annual UrbanSuburban event encompasses an invitational gallery exhibition of more than 80 artists and 100 works of art, the production of a glossy, 60-page catalogue, a private patron party, and a live and silent auction gala event.
“Due to the pace of our fundraising schedule, the creation and implementation of our new Development Director position received a great deal of consideration from our board,” says Marcus Cain, who has served as KCJMCA’s Curator since 2007. KCJMCA created the new position this summer following the announcement of Executive Director Eileen Garry’s retirement, which caps 20 years of service with the organization. “Beti has already hit the ground running, and I know she will do great things for our organization … we are all excited to have her on board,” says Cain who, along with KCJMCA’s Administrative Assistant Abby Rufkahr and Executive Director Eileen Garry, is already working with Moskowitz.
Retiring Executive Director Eileen Garry will receive the title of Emeritus at a private reception held in her honor this November, and she plans to remain active as a member of KCJMCA’s newly created Honorary Board. “Eileen has been a tremendous driving force within this organization, and she has become a very dear friend and mentor. I will greatly miss her daily presence,” says Cain, who will become KCJMCA’s Executive Director/Curator this November.