SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco announced the appointment of Linda Butler as Director of Marketing, Communications, and Visitor Experience. Joining the senior management team of FAMSF, Butler will oversee the public relations, marketing, graphic design, group sales, and visitor experience departments. Butler comes from the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) where she has been the Director of Marketing and Communications since early 2016. Prior to joining the CJM, she served as the Director of Marketing at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) during the museum’s three-year, $600 million expansion.

“I am thrilled to have Linda join our team to lead the marketing, communications, and visitor experience departments,” says Max Hollein, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Linda has outstanding vision, brings deep experience, and I cannot wait to see the innovative, holistic campaigns she and her team will create, bringing attention to our exciting upcoming programs and exhibitions.”

While at the CJM, Butler successfully established and led the first digital content department in the museum’s history; launched the CJM’s new website; initiated and executed their first annual media event—to regional and national attention; led efforts to improve overall visitor experience through on-site improvements; and directed the launch of institutional blog, 36 Windows. She has been recognized for her commitment to engaging and attracting diverse audiences in new ways, and for her dexterity in developing impactful content and effective institutional strategy.

Prior to her appointment at the CJM, Butler directed all facets of marketing for SFMOMA. Highlights include helping develop and promote a closing event that attracted over 20,000 visitors, directing content creation across social media channels to 2.2 million followers, and the launch of a comprehensive group sales and tourism program post re-opening. Her strategies to engage the community during the closure resulted in the wildly popular SFMOMA "On the Go" co-marketing campaign strategy with nine partnering museums, generating increased attendance at their sites, and the award-winning #PlayArtfully campaign, which received the 2015 Gold MUSE Award for outstanding achievement in Digital Communities.

“I am honored and thrilled to be joining the FAMSF team under the visionary leadership of Max Hollein,” adds Butler. “I'm excited to join a team of innovative thinkers to explore what audience engagement can be in the 21st century. I look forward to building and connecting with audiences not only locally but far beyond the Bay Area through distinct content that makes art relevant for today.”

Before joining SFMOMA, Butler served as the Director of Marketing, Public Relations, and Creative Services at the San Francisco Film Society from 2010-2012 and the Group Marketing Director at Questex Media Group based in Boston, MA from 2008-2010. Butler has attended the Massachusetts College of Art, Oral Roberts University, the Lorenzo de Medici Institute, and the Charles IV University. She is a part-time instructor teaching digital content creation at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Butler will begin her tenure at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco on August 21, 2017.