About

Our Mission

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington D.C. is the world’s first museum solely dedicated to celebrating the creative accomplishments of women. With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, NMWA champions women through the arts and advocates for equity. As the exclusive affiliate of the Women’s Museum in Ohio, the

Ohio Advisory Group (OAG) of NMWA extends the mission by showcasing women’s contributions to Ohio’s rich cultural landscape. The founding members of the OAG are distinguished women leaders in the region who share a passion for the arts and/or advocacy for women.

Women to Watch

Adopted by the OAG as its signature project, the Women to Watch initiative shines a spotlight on gender disparities through exhibitions and programming featuring Ohio women artists both locally and in Washington, DC. NMWA reports that 51% of visual artists working today are women, yet only 5% of work on display in US museums is by women, and works by women make up only 5% of major permanent collections in the US and Europe.

Co-Chairs

Donna Collins
Glenford
Executive Director, Ohio Arts Council; Chair of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies; Co-chair Ohio Advisory Group of the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Anu Mitra *
Cincinnati
Emeritus Professor in the Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies at Union Institute & University; Trustee and Executive Board Member at the Cincinnati Art Museum; Member, National Advisory Board of NMWA; Co-chair of the OAG; member, Support Committee of the Weston Art Gallery; Secretary and board member, Bader + Simon; docent at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati.

Secretary

Leslie Adams
Toledo
An internationally recognized artist who specializes in figurative art and portraiture.

Treasurer

Kate Bonansinga
Cincinnati
Director of the School of Art at the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning

Founder and Co-Chairs Emerita

Barbara Richter *
Alexandria, VA
Executive Director and CEO GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art

Harriet Warm *
Cleveland
Director and Past President, MOCA Cleveland; Founder, Cleveland Museum of Art Leadership Circle

* Member, National Advisory Board of NMWA

Members

Elizabeth (Beth) Crane *
Columbus
Trustee, Columbus Museum of Art: Former Educator, Columbus School for Girls; Member, National Advisory Board of NMWA

Marilena DiSilvio
Cleveland
Co-Chair; Partner at Elk & Elk Co., Ltd.; Adjunct professor at Cleveland State University College of Law.

Sally Gries *
Cleveland
Arts supporter and champion for women in the arts; Former Chair, The Cleveland Foundation; Member, National Advisory Board of NMWA

Kari Gunter-Seymore
Albany
Ohio Poet Laureate named for two terms by Governor DeWine; founder/executive director of the Women of Appalachia Project

Tamara Harkavy
Cincinnati
Founder and former CEO and Artistic Director of ArtWorks, Cincinnati’s largest public art program and employment program, creating a national model for transforming people and places through investments in creativity.  She is a trustee of the OAG, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and the Mercantile Library. She is the founder of Pleasant Street Consultants, working with non-profit arts and social enterprise organizations with strategic planning, marketing, programming, and development.

Nannette V. Maciejunes
Columbus
Executive Director Emeritus of the Columbus Museum of Art

Leah Magyary
Athens
Executive Director, Dairy Barn Arts Center

Ellen Stirn Mavec *
Cleveland
President and Chairman of The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation: Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Cleveland Museum of Art; Member, National Advisory Board of NMWA

Lisa McLymont
Columbus
Artist; Director of Creative & Brand Marketing Strategy at Equitas Health; City of Columbus Public Art Commissioner;

Ena Nearon
Yellow Springs
President of Ten Talents Network. Former Senior Event Manager at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Curator/Manager of YWCA Women’s Art Gallery, Development Director for the Yellow Springs Community Foundation and Certified Foundation Grant Manager through the renowned Indianapolis University School of Fundraising. Member of the Yellow Springs Public Arts and Culture Commission.

Rebecca Nelson
Columbus
Community advocate after retiring from careers in Public Health and Higher Ed Administration

Judith K. Oppenheimer
Bexley
President, Barbara Richter Advisors; Former Executive Director and CEO, GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art; Founder and Co-Chair, OAG

Talcon Quinn
The Plains
Artist; Southeastern Ohio native with eight generations of roots, is an artist, educator, and folk medicine maker, blending extensive travel experiences with skills in herbalism, wildcrafting, and doula work to cultivate conscious communities through grassroots education and sustainable practices

Barbara Richter
Alexandria, VA
Executive Director and CEO GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art

Joy Roller
Cleveland Heights
Filmmaker, Former Executive Director Gordon Square Arts District and Global Cleveland, Social Justice Consultant

Aseelah Shareef
Cleveland
Vice President + Chief Operating Officer at Karamu House, the nation’s oldest Black producing theatre

Klaire Smith
Portsmouth
Artist; Printmaker currently exploring the possibilities of mark-making and social commentary through woodblock printing; Certified Professional Printer at the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Ohio Arts Council Teaching Artist

Kathryn Turley-Sonne
Cincinnati
Professor of Museum Studies & Literature, board member of MoCA Westport, co-chair of MoCA Gives Back, board member and treasurer of Bader + Simon Gallery, co-founder of Club203 (healing arts for neurodiverse community

Victoria Vermes
Cleveland
Retired psychotherapist; Artist on a path

Sara Vance Waddell *
Cincinnati
Preseident/CEO, SMV Media; President of the Carolee Schneemann Foundation; Member, National Advisory Board of NMWA

Harriet Warm
Cleveland
Trustee and Past President, moCa Cleveland; Founder Leadership Circles, Cleveland Museum of Art; Co-Founder, OAG; Member, National Advisory Board of NMWA

Tamara (Tami) White
Cincinnati
Founder of Bader + Simon Gallery; board member for Words Uncaged (Los Angeles) and Space on Ryder Farm (artist residency, Brewster, NY)