SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- The Mexican Museum, the premier West Coast museum of Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano, Latin American, and Latino art, culture and heritage, announces its new International Advisory Board. The board, which currently includes 37 professional educators, government officials, business owners, and organization leaders found across the United States and Mexico, will provide guidance and support to The Mexican Museum as it plans for the design and construction of its new home. Being developed in partnership with Millennium Partners, The Mexican Museum will occupy the first four floors of the mixed-use project at 706 Mission Street in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens Arts District.
“Following the successful establishment of our Arts & Letters Council, as well as building approval by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, I am tremendously pleased to have so many other important individuals express their support by joining our International Advisory Board," said Andy Kluger, chairman of The Mexican Museum Board of Trustees. “We will be seeking their input as we develop plans for the new building, special exhibitions and permanent collection galleries, and museum activities for all Bay Area residents.”
As of August 22, 2013, The Mexican Museum’s new International Advisory Board includes:
• Hon. Tom Ammiano, San Francisco Assemblyman, District 17
• Rosario Anaya, Executive Director, Mission Language and Vocational School, San Francisco, CA
• Hon. John Avalos, San Francisco Supervisor, District 11
• Sara Bolaño Gonzalez, Advisor, Department of Cultural Affairs, México City, Mexico
• Rena Bransten, Owner, Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, CA
• Hon. Willie L. Brown, Jr., Former Mayor of San Francisco
• Elizabeth Burstein, Mexican mask collector, San Francisco, CA
• John L. Burton, Chairman, California Democratic Party
• Hon. David Campos, San Francisco Supervisor, District 9
• Bea Carrillo Hocker, San Francisco Bay Area Museum Education Consultant
• Susan Cervantes, Founding Executive Director, Precita Eyes Muralists, San Francisco, CA
• Petra de Jesus, San Francisco Police Commissioner
• Mario P. Diaz, Vice President, Wells Fargo Foundation, San Francisco Bay Area
• Deborah Dorotinsky Alperstein, Ph.D., Chair of Art History Graduate Program, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
• Lariza Dugan-Cuadra, Executive Director, CARECEN, San Francisco, CA
• Maria Echaveste, Policy and Program Development Director, Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
• Georgiana Hernandez, Executive Director, Acción Latina, San Francisco, CA
• Theron Kabrich, Co-Founder and creative director, San Francisco Art Exchange
• Karen Kienzle, Director, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
• Don Marcos, Executive Director, San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center
• Lucy Medina Rivera, Architect, Former Councilwoman and Mayor of State of Mexico
• Eduardo Morales, Ph.D., Executive Director, AGUILAS, San Francisco, CA
• Robert J. Nava, Vice President of University Advancement, San Francisco State University
• Stacie Powers-Cuellar, Executive Director, Brava Theater Center, San Francisco, CA
• Hon. Cruz Reynoso, Retired Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California, Professor of Law Emeritus, University of California, Davis
• Jennie Emire Rodriguez, Executive Director, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, CA
• Lupe Rodriguez Kindel, Philanthropist, Los Angeles, CA
• Haydee Rodriguez Pastor, Founder, VIDA USA, San Francisco, CA and Lima, Peru
• Sam Ruiz, Executive Director, Mission Neighborhood Centers, San Francisco, CA
• Helen L. Sause, Former Deputy Executive Director, Program and Project Management at San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
• Edward Sullivan, Helen Gould Sheppard Professor in the History of Art, Institute of Fine Arts and College of Arts and Sciences, New York University, New York City, New York
• Olga Talamante, Executive Director, Chicana/Latina Foundation, San Francisco Bay Area
• Carlos Tortolero, President and CEO, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
• John Trasviña, Dean, University of San Francisco School of Law
• Alejandro Vallejo, Director & Lead Counsel, Gas Operations, PG&E, San Francisco, CA
• Mark Van Stone, Ph.D., G.F., Maya Expert, Professor of Art History, Southwestern College, Chula Vista, CA
• Linda Waterfield, Museum Registrar and Collections Internship Advisor, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Berkeley, CA
“The groundswell of support from local, national and international leadership has been very encouraging,” said Nora E. Wagner, vice-chair of The Mexican Museum Board of Trustees. “Moving forward, the input from our International Advisory Board will help fuel the museum’s public education and community outreach programs. This, in turn, will help satisfy our goal of communicating the value of our exhibitions and cultural programs for people of every age and ethnic group while enhancing the importance of the Latino and Chicano identity in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
The Mexican Museum, which is the only San Francisco museum to be named an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, continues to receive strong public support through its ¡Adelante! fundraising program. People are encouraged to support The Mexican Museum by becoming members or by upgrading their current membership levels to the new Builder’s Society level, which enables individuals, businesses and organizations to support the museum for $1 a day.
