Dear NUMU Community,
Photo Credit: Crystal Birns
After over two years serving as the Executive Director of New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU), I will be leaving at the end of March to work with Arts Council Santa Cruz County. As you can imagine, it was a difficult decision to leave the incredible staff and board at NUMU, however, after putting NUMU on a successful path forward, it’s time for new leadership to take the helm and continue the museum’s growth.
I am beyond grateful for what we have been able to accomplish at NUMU over the past couple of years. We cultivated community partners in the region, who joined us in increasing and diversifying our exhibitions and programming as we emerged from a devastating pandemic. We grew membership retention, event participation, and staff expertise. We received unprecedented funding and local and national support, including from the National Endowment for the Arts, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and California Arts Council. We established the Michael and Alyce Parsons Art Endowment, which will help sustain NUMU for decades to come. And most importantly, we created and enacted a vision for our role in advancing equity in Los Gatos, engaging with the community to create a safe space where all can connect with local art and history, and expand our reach across the region. I am deeply proud of the work we have done together.
I am confident in the future success of NUMU and thrilled for the organization’s next chapter. I am so appreciative of the long-lasting relationships developed with so many of you and I hope we can find new ways to work together. Thank you for the opportunity and pleasure of getting to know all of you.
Ami Davis, Executive Director, NUMU
We are grateful for the vision and leadership that Ami has brought to NUMU over the past two years, and look forward to our continued success under new leadership.
Ami has been an asset to the Board of Directors, and helped implement our vision of establishing the museum as a center of excellence and an asset to the Town of Los Gatos and beyond. Our values of art, history, and education have produced outstanding and culturally relevant exhibitions, preserved over 3,000 local historical artifacts, and brought recognition and experience to high school students from all over Santa Clara County.
We are happy that Kimberly Snyder will step in as interim director. Her expertise and deep understanding of the museum will be invaluable in leading us forward.
Jan Schwartz, Board President, NUMU
I am pleased to serve as Interim Executive Director. Being with the museum since 2014, I’ve had the opportunity to work in nearly every department and contribute to the museum’s tremendous growth and accomplishments since our rebranding and reopening as New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) in 2015. I have developed a deep understanding and appreciation of our organization and the community that we serve.
I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside many strong leaders, each of whom has made a lasting impact on the museum. While Ami will be missed, she has built an incredible foundation from which the museum will be able to continue to build. I feel confident that I can make a significant contribution to NUMU and our community and continue the legacy of being a place where the community can come together to share stories, experience thought-provoking art and learn from our history.
Our community truly makes NUMU possible - our town, partners, artists, members, donors, volunteers, staff, and board. I look forward to working with all of you to continue to push NUMU forward, to challenge the status quo, and always be in search of the “new.”
Thank you for your continued support of this wonderful organization.
Kimberly Snyder, Interim Director, NUMU
Staff & Board Get Together, January 2023
