Staff & Board

Laura Millin

Executive Director

For over 30 years, Laura Millin has dedicated herself to MAM and its vision, doing everything from steering the direction of the museum, raising money, and maintaining and expanding the museum facilities, to making soup for crowds of guests. As Executive Director, Laura has taken MAM from a small county agency living in a converted Carnegie library to an independent, thriving nonprofit in a beautiful, renovated and expanded facility. Laura moved to Missoula after spending a decade in contemporary art in Seattle, where she co-founded the International Festival of Films by Women and the Center on Contemporary Art. She has served on the board of directors or advisors for at least a dozen nonprofits, and has received seven awards for her leadership, fundraising, and community service achievements. MAM is a labor of love for Laura and represents her life’s work. She is continually rewarded by the “MAMily” of staff and board members who make it all possible, and by the artists who enrich our lives, and says she still has plenty more to do at MAM. Laura graduated from Evergreen State College with a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies.

Brandon Reintjes

Senior Curator

At MAM, Brandon oversees strategic planning for programming initiatives, which is a technical way of describing the pleasurable task of working closely with artists to help them realize their creative visions. Brandon has worked as curator for a number of institutions throughout the state. He previously worked at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture at the University of Montana-Missoula, Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, the Akron Art Museum in Akron, Ohio, and the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, Montana. Recent publications include Phoebe Knapp: Rough Cuts; Cathy Weber: Understory/Overstory (2018); Our Side: Elisa Harkins, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Marianne Nicolson, and Tanis Maria S’eiltin (2018); and Shape of Things: New Approaches to Indigenous Abstraction (2018). In addition, Brandon regularly contributes articles to the Journal of Modern Craft, Ceramics Art & Perception, and Ceramics Monthly. He received a bachelor’s in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his master’s in curatorial and critical studies from the University of Louisville.

John Calsbeek

Associate Curator

While at the University of Montana, John had his first taste of working in the arts with a work-study job at MAM and then as the University Center Gallery student coordinator. After earning a bachelor’s in fine arts, John worked as the director of a small, commercial photography gallery in Missoula. John was hired at MAM during its 2006 expansion. As Associate Curator, John now works together with Senior Curator Brandon Reintjes and directly with artists to develop, design, and install all of MAM’s exhibits. He also works with the programming team to develop interpretation and create public programs centered on the exhibition schedule. John has been co-chair of MAM’s auction committee since 2006, working with volunteers and staff to coordinate the annual benefit art auction. His favorite part of the job, in addition to hands-on work in the gallery, is meeting artists—going to an artist’s studio to look at new work and engaging in meaningful dialogue about art and art-making.

Tracy Cosgrove

Deputy Director for Finance and Advancement

Tracy is the Deputy Director for Finance and Advancement at the Missoula Art Museum in Jeannette Rankin’s hometown. Before moving to Montana she spent 12 years in the communications industry doing public and investor relations at boutique firms in the Twin Cities. She was COO at Forward Montana and Forward Montana Foundation, and has served on more than a dozen nonprofit boards at the local, state, regional, and national level. She chaired the national board of the YWCA USA in Washington, D.C., as well as the Minnesota Women’s Consortium, and has served as treasurer of the Seattle-based Social Justice Fund and Montana Conservation Voters. Tracy is currently a board member of the Athens, Georgia-based Jeannette Rankin Foundation, which empowers women through education. She attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and is a member of Mensa.

Cameron Decker

Educator & Outreach Coordinator

Cameron Decker is a proud member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation. He is a Salish descendant. He is coming from Salish Kootenai College where he has taught courses in studio arts, art history and portfolio since 2011. He was hired as Fine Arts Department chair in 2016. Cameron received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History at the University of New Mexico. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Integrated Arts in Education at the University of Montana. He is a painter, printmaker, and ceramic artist. He takes pride in educating people about art and bringing people together for meaningful art experiences. His wife is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes and is one of the few fluent speakers remaining and is teaching Cameron how to speak Salish. Together they are raising their four young children to be creative, cultural, and fluent Salish speakers.

Kay Grissom-Kiely

Curator of Education

Kay is the Curator of Education for the Missoula Art Museum. Prior to this position, she worked at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, the Montana Arts Council, homeWORD, as co-editor of the St. James Guide to both Latin American Art and African American Art, and as Development Director and grant writer/researcher at MAM. During her time in Chicago, she was the Director of Education at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago and has been committed to arts education throughout her career. While in Chicago, she worked at Marwen and Gallery 37, both inner-city arts centers. She completed a curatorial internship for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as internships in museum education at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Eiteljorg Museum of Native American and Western Art in Indianapolis. Kay brings experience designing and implementing teen mentorship programs in the arts, curriculum-based arts-integrated programs, jobs-training programs in the arts, and other interpretive programs from institutions with nationally recognized arts and museum education programs. She has an extensive background in art, with a master’s in art history, theory, and criticism in modern and contemporary art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—where she focused on contemporary women artists of Cuba—and a bachelor’s in art history from DePauw University.

Madeleine Ford

Development Officer

Madeleine moved to Missoula from Minnesota in 2009 to attend the University of Montana, where her studies focused on science and the environment. Madeleine came to MAM from the Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium, and now, with half a decade of nonprofit experience under her belt, she’s got her job here at MAM down to a science. Madeleine helps manage all major donor relationships, solicitations, and donations to support MAM’s creative vision. It was MAM’s mission of Art4All—promoting access to art for all ages and demographics—that encouraged Madeleine to become part of the MAM family. She’s proud that MAM’s work sparks curiosity in those who walk through the door, giving rise to a lifelong appreciation for the arts. She holds a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Montana.

John Knight

Registrar

John brings more than a decade of working in the arts at contemporary art galleries, art centers, fabrication studios, and with artists. In his position as Registrar, John cares for MAM’s collection and works with the museum’s curators, exhibiting artists, and donor base. John appreciates MAM’s dedication to diversity and the need to acknowledge and recognize the historic and contemporary communities that exist in Montana. He serves on the Board of Directors of KALICO Art Center in Kalispell, Montana, and mentors young artists regionally and nationally. Prior to working at MAM, John lived in Portland, Oregon where he co-directed Williamson Knight Gallery and co-curated the project Cherry and Lucic. He is a conceptual artist who exhibits nationally and internationally. John’s work examines the constructs of class and identity and their relationship to architecture and design. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, John received a BFA in Sculpture from the University of Cincinnati, and an MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Carey Powers

Marketing & Communications Coordinator 

Carey’s responsibilities include marketing and promoting the myriad events, programs, and exhibitions offered by the museum and overseeing the museum's online presence. Carey moved to Montana in 2019 after spending a year guiding trips on horseback in Wyoming and Argentina. Prior to that, she lived in Washington, D.C., where she managed the daily operations for Cuba Educational Travel, a small cultural travel company. She worked for the director of the Clark Art Institute, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, during the institute’s re-opening in 2014. During that time, she also served as a curatorial assistant on the exhibition Whistler’s Mother: Grey, Black, and White. In addition, Carey worked in the education and collections management departments at the Colby College Museum of Art. She holds a bachelor’s in international relations from Colby College.

Dylan Running Crane

Digital Engagement Specialist

Dylan Running Crane has been working at the museum as a visitor engagement security officer since 2019. She is attending the University of Montana as a film studies major where her promotional and digital storytelling work has focused on highlighting young Native voices. Dylan grew up in Browning, Montana, and is a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation. Along with filmmaking, Dylan is a musician and writer and is always looking for new ways to explore and understand her community and the perspective that comes along with it. She hopes to continue using these mediums to start conversations with other underrepresented voices. 

Nicolle Hamm

Hannah Harvey

Board of Directors

Kate Sutherland, President

Lara Dorman, Vice President

Stephanie Christensen, Past Vice President

Josh Gimpelson, Treasurer

Matt Gibson, Secretary

Colin Boyle

Paul Filicetti

Amy Leary

Kate Shanley

Cathay Smith

Amy Sings in the Timber

R. David Wilson