Elizabeth A. Sackler elected first woman board chair of Brooklyn Museum
Museum Outgoing Chair John S. Tamagni to Step Down after Three Years
The Members of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Museum have elected Elizabeth A. Sackler, Board member since 2000, as the Museum’s Chair. Dr. Sackler, the first woman in the nearly 200-year history of the Museum to serve in that position, is the founder of the Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. She succeeds retiring chair John S. Tamagni, who has served as Chair since 2011 and will continue to serve as an active Board member.
Dr. Sackler stated, “It is a privilege, and I thank the Museum’s leadership, for electing me as Chair of this venerable institution. I look forward to adding to the accomplishments of all my predecessors. The Brooklyn Museum has had an exceptional period of programmatic and capital growth, and our mission is essential to our City as a dynamic resource for all New Yorkers and its visitors. Over the last decade, we have created generous and lively experiences for visitors of all ages and backgrounds and provided communities with the pleasures of our important permanent collections, educational activities, and public programming. As this is a museum for all people, I am proud to be the first woman to Chair the Board of Trustees.”
Outgoing Chair John S. Tamagni commented, “Since Elizabeth Sackler first joined the Board, she has been one of our most dedicated and dynamic members and has demonstrated a remarkable understanding of the Museum’s strengths and challenges and an in-depth knowledge about the functioning of museums. Her leadership, vision, and generosity in founding the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, and the gift of one of its key components, The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, were instrumental in establishing the Museum as the center for feminist art in the nation. Elizabeth is exceptionally well qualified to take the helm of the Brooklyn Museum and to lead it into the future.”
