ST. PETERSBURG, FL.- Museum Director Kent Lydecker has announced the appointment of Brooke Manetti as Director of Development. “Brooke Manetti brings seasoned professionalism and impressive experience to the Museum of Fine Arts,” said Dr. Lydecker. “She joins Associate Director for Advancement Don Howe and our staff and community in moving the MFA forward.”

“Brooke Manetti will be instrumental in building on the MFA’s solid foundation,” said Mr. Howe. “She has a deep commitment to the arts and to the vital role the MFA plays in our city and the entire Tampa Bay area. I am confident she will make many friends in support of our mission.”

“The Museum of Fine Arts is a cultural gem and has a great story to tell,” said Mrs. Manetti. “The MFA does so much for the community. The collection is exceptional. The creative educational programs reach people of all ages. And the building is an architectural landmark. I feel especially fortunate to join the Museum as we prepare for our 50th anniversary in 2015.”

Most recently, Mrs. Manetti was the Development and Marketing Communications Manager for Starlight Children’s Foundation Midwest in Chicago. She was especially involved with the Young Professionals Board and annual giving. This global charity serves seriously ill children and their families.

For more than eight years, Mrs. Manetti played a leadership role with the Luna Negra Dance Theater, founded in 1999 in Chicago. She joined Luna Negra, devoted to contemporary Latino dance, in the early days and planned and coordinated its first fundraiser. She then assumed positions of increasing responsibility, finally becoming Managing Director/Development Director.

Mrs. Manetti holds her B.A. in art history from the University of Notre Dame and held her first position at the Snite Museum of Art, where she was Assistant to the Director. The Snite, at her alma mater, is one of the country’s foremost university museums, with a collection of more than 27,000 works.

A professional experience in Italy changed Mrs. Manetti’s life and in a roundabout way, brought her to the Museum of Fine Arts. For nearly three years, she was the Assistant to the Director and the Residence Hall Assistant Director for the St. Mary’s College Rome Program. During her time abroad, she had the opportunity to explore the great expanse of Italian art. She also met her husband Maurizio, a native of Florence. The Manettis moved to the area with their three-year-old son Serafino in 2012, when Maurizio became Director of Security at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.