High Desert Museum Appoints Janeanne A. Upp As President
Upp led major metropolitan museums through expansions, achieving financial success.
Upp: "I'm here to build."
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Bend, Ore. - The High Desert Museum has appointed as its new president Janeanne A. Upp, whose career achievements include expanding major metropolitan museums while securing financial sustainability and attracting more visitors and donors.
Upp, the executive director of the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Wash., from 1999 to 2004, completed a $27 million capital campaign and led the museum in opening a new 50,000-square-foot building while keeping the existing building open. The new building opened on schedule, on budget, received overwhelming positive reviews, and annual attendance quadrupled.
She previously was associate director/chief operating officer of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and before that she was vice president for finance/chief financial officer at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Upp said her priorities at the High Desert Museum include building the Museum's relatively small endowment, eliminating its debt, building strong revenue streams, managing expenses and introducing new, relevant, interesting programs to engage the community and draw visitors.
"I'm here to build," said Upp. "And, we will be sure to make relevant decisions that touch what people want to learn and see. Our job as museum leaders is to constantly bring new and exciting ideas to the Museum. That's what you'll be seeing here at the High Desert Museum."
The Museum's guiding principle -- that it is a museum bounded by mountains and rivers, not by walls, will also guide her as president, she said.
"It means that we must constantly think beyond ourselves, and I'm intrigued and excited by that," Upp said. "I see wonderful opportunities to take (founder) Don Kerr's vision, and really build on it."
Museum Board of Trustees Chair Margi Heater said, "Janeanne is a charismatic leader, and we are ecstatic to have found someone so valuable and confident, with a background in the museum and financial worlds. She will be a bridge-builder within the community who will be sure the Museum will be all it can be."
Interim President Jay Bennett will continue in achieving a smooth transition for Upp, who will start as president on Jan. 2.
The Museum thanks Jim and Marye Montgomery of Bend for their pro-bono work in conducting the search for the new president, which began in August.
About the Museum
The High Desert Museum is nationally acclaimed for inspiring
stewardship of the High Desert's wildlife, people, culture, art
and natural resources. For more information, visit www.highdesertmuseum.org.
