About The Museum
Staff
Kristin Makholm PhD
Executive Director
Kristin Makholm took over the helm of Executive Director at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in July 2009. A Milwaukee native, she comes to the museum as a respected curator, art historian, and teacher, having received her B.A. from Northwestern University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She has held curatorial and research positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and The Saint Louis Art Museum, over time developing her specialty in the area of prints, drawings, and other works on paper. Her most recent museum post was as curator of prints and drawings at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where she organized exhibitions on Latin-American art, the prints of Roy Lichtenstein, nineteenth-century German prints and drawings, and the art of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
In 2004 she became director of exhibitions and galleries at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), where she organized exhibitions, taught art history, and led two prominent regional arts fellowship programs, the McKnight Artist Fellowships for Visual Artists and the Jerome Foundation Fellowships for Emerging Artists. As adjunct faculty, Makholm taught courses ranging from Dada and Surrealism to History of Prints and Mapping Modernity.
Makholm spends her time charting the new direction and vision of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, developing new programs and partnerships, collections care and management, fundraising, and donor development.
Jane Johnson
Director of Development
Jane L. Johnson joined MMAA as Director of Development in April 2011. A lifelong Twin Cities resident and educated at the University of Minnesota, Jane has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Most recently, Jane served as the Executive Director of the Regional Parks Foundation of the Twin Cities. Jane’s past work experiences includes serving as Executive Director of the Library Foundation of Hennepin County, Associate Director of Development Research during Campaign Minnesota at the University of Minnesota Foundation, and Associate Administrator-Development, managing development and membership department initiatives for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Jane is a member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Nonprofit Management at the University of Saint Thomas.
Jessari Sutton
Business & Marketing Manager
Jessari Maudal Kuppe joined the MMAA after working for 7 years with various arts related institutions and community projects in Arizona and Minnesota. Upon completing a bachelor’s program in Museum Studies at Arizona State University, she moved back home to the Twin Cities to pursue work in arts administration, fundraising, and event planning. Her favorite part of this pursuit has been the volunteer work she stumbled upon with local artist co-ops and community arts festivals for underprivileged youth. As an artist herself, she has always been drawn to the idea of working for a museum that truly brings art into the community and engages and educates participants by connecting them to artists and the creative process. In an effort to further her own education, Jessari is currently pursuing a dual masters program in Nonprofit Management and Business Administration at Hamline University.