NEWPORT BEACH, CA.- The Orange County Museum of Art today announced the appointment of Cassandra Coblentz as the museum's director of public engagement. In this role, Coblentz will oversee the museum's public programming and develop an innovative program of talks, performances, and cutting-edge, community engagement projects that bring together artists and the public in new ways. She will also continue to strengthen the museum's long-standing commitment to serving the youth of Orange County through school tours and special outreach initiatives.

"With Cassandra's extensive experience in the museum field, combined with her proven commitment to the Orange County arts community, I am thrilled that she has agreed to take the museum's public programs in new directions and targeted at new audiences," stated OCMA Director and CEO Todd Smith.

Coblentz began her career in the museum education department at the J. Paul Getty Museum where she remained for four years. At the Getty, she developed education programs, including community outreach and school tours, for the opening of the new campus in Brentwood. She was the head of academic initiatives, and managed public programs, at UCLA's Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. In this role, she instituted the Student Advisory Council as well as developed collaborations between visiting artists and community members. She has also curated numerous exhibitions at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and a Master of Arts from Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College.