CEO of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art since 2003, Charles Shepard’s past directorships include the Lyman Allyn Museum at Connecticut College, the Kennedy Museum of Art at Ohio University (founding director), the University of Maine Museum of Art (founding director), and the Michigan Guild of Artists & Artisans at The University of Michigan. In his 22 years in Fort Wayne, Charles has also taught art history and museum studies at University of Maine, Connecticut College, and the University of Saint Francis. At the Fort Wayne Museum of Art Charles has added over 7,500 objects to a permanent collection that originally amassed only 1,100 objects in its first 62 years. His particular talents as a museum leader are in nurturing artist relationships, creatively acquiring works for the collection, and adapting entrepreneurial strategies from the business world to make exciting things happen, often on a shoestring. Charles holds a Master of Arts in Art History from Williams College.
Amanda Shepard is the Vice President and COO of FWMoA, having joined the staff in 2007, first as an intern and later full-time in adult education. During the 2010 FWMoA renovation, Amanda tackled administrative and operations projects, leaving behind the world of tour and program planning to dive into all things behind-the-scenes. Today, her role includes staff management, communication strategies, agency fundraising, strategic planning, and linking all institutional planning together for integrated and sustainable organizational success. Amanda’s second full-time job as a mother leaves no time to continue her studio practice in painting, which she formalized in 2008 with a B.F.A. from the University of Notre Dame.
Alyssa studied art education and art history at Ball State University (chirp chirp!) then volunteered as a docent before joining FWMoA’s full-time staff in 2016. Although much of her work is now behind-the-scenes planning, the school tour and docent programs are still very near and dear to her heart. She’s also an alum of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a program she now gets to help bring to the students of Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio. When not at the museum, she enjoys being outdoors, cooking, and baking. Most of her time, however, is spent at the service of her very needy beagle-mix, Addy.
Sachi Yanari-Rizzo is Curator of Prints & Drawings. Wearing many hats over the years at the museum, currently she oversees the Print & Drawing Study Center where the public can view works up close and request to see works on paper from the permanent collection that are not on view. She received a B.A. from Michigan State University and an M.A. from Ohio State University, both in art history. Sachi enjoys researching, particularly under-recognized artists. She enjoys traveling, cooking, taming unruly native plantings in her yard, and adding pollinator pocket gardens in the alley.
Suzanne Slick is the FWMoA Collections Information Specialist, which is sort of like the librarian of the art collections. The information trail of art objects coming in, going out, on exhibit, stored, or loaned ends up at her desk to be tracked in our Mimsy database. Suzanne earned a B.F.A. from the IPFW Department of Fine Arts when it was still fondly referred to as, “The Old Art School”, and later a Master of Library Science from IUPUI. Strangely enough, a long circuit through the corporate world brought her back to the art world! When not immersed in collections data at her desk or digging through the Museum’s historical archives, you can find her hanging out with her retired engineer husband, Bob. She enjoys digging in the dirt in her garden, or puttering around in their Sears Catalogue house on the near north side in the company of felines Boo, Black, Max, and Smudgie.
Lauren Wolfer is the Registrar, arguably the coolest job at the museum, as it means she has direct contact with the art. Regular duties include the overall care of the collection and works on loan for exhibits, accessioning art into the collection, and handling the processing of large (or small!) donations. Graduating with a B.F.A. in Printmaking and a B.A. in Art History from Indiana University, Bloomington, Lauren’s favorite art are prints, and she has been dabbling with cross stitching, a skill her great grandmother had mastered. When not handling the collection or curating, Lauren is acquiring art for her own collection, gardening, and hanging out with her four cats: Scout, Ziggy, Moody, and Kitty.
Brit Micho is the Associate Curator of Exhibitions and joined the team in 2024. She earned her M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies at the University of Oregon, two B.A.’s in Art History and German, and a B.F.A. in Painting at Colorado State University. Her favorite interest is European art from the early 20th century, specifically Weimar German art of the New Objectivity style. When not at the museum, Brit finds herself painting, hiking in nature, or enjoying a good horror movie with her cat and friends.
Paradigm Gallery Director Abby Leon began her journey at the FWMoA just as the museum reopened following the 2010 expansion. She majored in photography at Antonelli College in Cincinnati, Ohio, but she loves all things art! Her expansive knowledge of other mediums operates side-by-side with numerous local, regional, and national artists as she curates the artworks for sale. When she isn’t conversing with artists, Abby enjoys helping customers and working with her amazing team of sales associates. Outside of Paradigm, Abby enjoys the various opportunities to judge at art fairs, group exhibitions, paint outs, photography competitions, and even some home renovation contests. In her spare time, she tackles her own DIY renovations with her husband, Dan. Her passion for architecture is equally paired with her passion for art and design; after all, what’s a great space without great art? Her favorite part of the job is helping visitors find meaningful art pieces! Whether it’s their first foray into purchasing art or another addition to an already teeming collection, Abby aims to help bring the art museum to the walls (or table or desk or bookcase) of your home!
Dedicating herself to art in all its forms since age 12, Kaitlin graduated from the University of Saint Francis in 2013 with a B.A. in Communication Art and Graphic Design. She also completed all the credits for a B.A. in Studio Art, Illustration but they can only fit so much on the diploma! Since then she works to boost the visual identity of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art with branding and visual consistency in addition to increasing the public’s awareness of the treasure in their city that is FWMoA through social and traditional media. When not telling everyone she knows about all that’s cool at the museum, she is birdwatching, playing with her three cats, or building things in Minecraft!
Holding a B.F.A. in Studio Art, Miranda Dyson dedicates herself to making art accessible to understand, enjoy, and create. During her career as an educator, she has served as a Montessori Art teacher, Museum Experience Specialist, and art camp counselor. Her role as the Children’s Education Associate is the combination of her favorite professional interests! She loves welcoming students and educators as they engage with new exhibits, overlapping classroom and museum knowledge. In her spare time, she explores new ways to visualize concepts and questions through printmaking and sculpture. Miranda enjoys time outdoors and when she is not making art, she is propagating her plants.
School Programs Associate Kelsey Herber joined the FWMoA team in 2022, starting as a Guest Services Representative and Security Guard. She earned her B.A. in Art Education from the IU Herron School of Art in Indianapolis and her M.A. in Art History from John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. During her tenure in Rome, she learned and fell in love with the ancient art of mosaic, but is a lover of all hands-on forms of art, including mural painting and jewelry making. Kelsey’s wide range of material knowledge paired with her passion for making art accessible for all makes working in the FWMoA’s Education Department her dream come true.
Past Contributors
Katy Thompson the former Children’s Education Associate, was a Fort Wayne transplant from St. Louis. Following multiple internships in San Francisco, on Mackinac Island, and in London, she leveraged her experience and education (a B.A. in History from Sweet Briar College and an M.A. in Digital Humanities from King’s College, London) to create dynamic programming for all ages at the FWMoA. Though didn’t, she loved spending her hours at the museum discussing the art. When not looking at things and talking about stuff, you can find her eating Cookie Cottage, reading a book in Lakeside Park, or hanging with her two dumb orange cats, Kenan and Kel.
Naomi Vanderleest is a Fort Wayne native whose interest in art goes back to her childhood. She graduated from the University of Saint Francis in 2021 with a degree in art education. Shortly after graduation she was a security guard and volunteer docent at the FWMoA before her role as Education Assistant. Naomi’s interest in art started from a love for video games; in fact, before choosing to become an art educator, she wanted to be a concept artist and work for Nintendo. (Her favorite video game is Earthbound.) As an artist, Naomi’s favorite medium is gouache, but it changes once a week. Per her former title, Naomi assisted with a variety of education programs at the museum, including writing blog posts.
Jenna Gilley is the former Associate Curator of Exhibitions hailing from New Albany, IN. She joined the museum in 2021 as an intern overseeing the growing contemporary glass collection. All interpretive text for exhibitions originates from her desk. While she enjoys many types of art, Jenna has a particular interest in fiber art, fashion, and gender studies. She will always be an avid music fan and BBQ snob thanks to her time living in Memphis, TN, where she graduated with a B.A. in Art History from Rhodes College.
Elizabeth Kilmer is the former Exhibitions Content Manager at FWMoA. A Fort Wayne native, she earned her B.F.A. in Art History from the University of Saint Francis, moving to London to obtain an M.A. in Fine and Decorative Arts from Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Elizabeth loves exploring Fort Wayne’s trails and cooking her jazzy jambalaya during the day and enjoying the perfect cup of British tea while getting too invested in the fictional lives of characters in her most recent book in the evenings.
Michael Breuning was a student and writer in Fort Wayne, IN. After serving as a curatorial intern at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art he finished his English Degree at Purdue University Fort Wayne. When he’s not busy pretending to understand Dostoevsky he’s probably looking at dogs on the Internet.
Jack Cantey formerly worked part-time in Guest Services for the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. A native of Fort Wayne, he worked and volunteered for several local arts organizations over the years. In his private time, Jack reads avidly and dabbles in creative writing and artmaking.