LOS ANGELES—The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has appointed three new members of its senior leadership team: Danielle Bias, Chief Communications Officer (CCO); Colleen Russell Criste, Chief Advancement Officer (CAO); and Lisa Gabrielle Mark, Chief of Public Engagement, Learning & Impact (CPELI). Longtime museum professionals with deep experience in cultural institutions in Los Angeles and beyond, the new team members will join MOCA in May 2023.
Danielle Bias, CCO, will lead all communications platforms for MOCA, including marketing, public relations, and digital initiatives, creating an integrated strategy for the museum. Bias joins MOCA from Audible.com, where she focused on the creator community in her role as Director of Global Corporate Communications. Previously, she served as the Director of Communications at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where she managed the museum’s communications strategy from 2016 to 2022. Bias has also worked in marketing and communications teams at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as the Museum of Pop Culture and the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle.
Colleen Russell Criste, CAO, will be responsible for the critical leadership, planning, and execution of the museum’s comprehensive fundraising efforts, including the annual fund, individual and institutional giving, and supporter events and stewardship. She will work closely with staff and trustee leadership to raise funds to support strategic initiatives, exhibitions, and public programs, and continue to grow MOCA’s robust endowment. Criste has worked as an executive strategist for fund and audience development for many high-profile arts and culture organizations, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), The Andy Warhol Museum, and the International Center of Photography (ICP). She re-joins MOCA—where she served in this role from 2014 to 2017—from the Cleveland Museum of Art, where she was recently the head of both fundraising and marketing.
Lisa Gabrielle Mark, MOCA’s first CPELI, will be responsible for shaping and coordinating the museum’s public initiatives, overseeing and coordinating Education, Visitor Engagement, Public Programs, Community Engagement, and Publications, as well as research and archival projects. Mark is returning to MOCA, where she served as Director of Publications from 2000 to 2010, co-editing and overseeing production of the museum’s award-winning catalogues. Most recently, Mark was the Senior Director of Publishing and Content Strategy for Exhibitions and Collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), overseeing Publications, Rights and Reproduction, Graphic Design, and Photographic Services, as well as content development for Collections Online. She also has worked as an independent editor and publishing consultant for the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, along with other private and institutional clients.
