Gardiner Musesum

Officers & Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the governing body responsible for the overall management of the affairs of the Gardiner Museum.

• Karen Sheriff, Chair
• Lorna Marsden, C.M., Vice Chair
• Isabella Smejda, Treasurer
• Sheila Snelgrove, Secretary to the Board
• Rani Advani
• Jim Andersen
• James Appleyard
• Kenneth Bartlett

• Stephen Brown
• Dick Cousland
• Laura Dinner-Rooney
• Clare Gaudet
• Allan Gotlieb C.C.
• Howard Grosfield
• Adrienne Hood
• Larry Kurtz
• Elizabeth Legge

• Jon Packer
• Natalie Penno
• Victoria Stuart
• Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam
• David S. Wright
• Theresa Day, President GVC
• Alexandra Montgomery, Executive Director
• Dr. Peter Kaellgren, Interim Chief Curator
• Rachel Gotlieb, Senior Curator

Senior Staff

 Siobhan Boyd
Manager of School Programs & Archaeologist

A practising archaeologist as well as a museum programmer, Siobhan Boyd graduated in Anthropology from York University and archaeology from the University of London, England. Her research interests, which benefit the Gardiner’s galleries, include the Maya and Ecuadorian Andes cultures, the Ancient Americas, and Ontario prehistory. At the Gardiner, which she joined in 2002, she is responsible for creating and booking school and group programs and tours, and for liaising with potters. In addition, she runs Empty Bowls and other events.

Christina Green
Collections Manager

Christina Green came to the Gardiner in 2003 following her graduation in North American historical/industrial archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University and museum management and curatorship from Sir Sandford Fleming College. For the Gardiner she processes new acquisitions, arranges loans, shipping, and packing, and maintains records on the Museum’s permanent collection, including digital and slide records.

Katy Liu
Controller

A graduate of York University, Katy Liu joined the Gardiner in 2000. Previously she was finance manager of the Canadian Opera Company. Actively involved with the Chinese community, she has received two Ontario Volunteer Awards for her years of service.

Rachel Gotlieb
Senior Curator

Rachel Gotlieb, M.A. co-wrote Design in Canada (Knopf Canada, 2001) and served as the founding Curator of the Design Exchange 1990–2002. She has curated and co-curated several important exhibitions, including Thor Hansen: Crafting a Canadian Style (Textile Museum of Canada, 2005), On the Table: 100 Years of Functional Ceramics; (Gardiner Museum, 2007), and Beaver Tales: Canadian Art and Design (University of Toronto Art Centre, 2008). She has taught design history at Ryerson University School of Fashion, OCAD and Sheridan College. She created and implemented the Studio North and Prototype exhibits for Canadian artisans at the Toronto Interior Design Show as well as conceived and directed its Conversations in Design annual symposium.  

She currently serves on OCADU’s On Site Gallery Advisory Board and on the Professional Advisory Committee for Art and Art History Sheridan / University of Toronto, Mississauga.  She has also served on the board of the Ontario Crafts Council (2006-8), and City of Toronto Public Art Commission (1994-7).

Rachel received her M.A.in Design History at the Royal College of Art & The Victoria & Albert Museum, where her thesis topic investigated “The Aesthetic Criteria and Vocabulary of Art Manufacturers and British Studio Potters (1914-1930).”  She also completed a Sotheby’s short course in European Decorative Arts.  She is a PhD candidate in Art History at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Alexandra Montgomery
Executive Director

Alexandra Montgomery has led the Gardiner Museum for more than ten years. During her tenure as the Museum has grown from a public institution founded through private philanthropy to become an important Canadian cultural institution and one of the world’s great specialty museums.

Alexandra oversaw the transforming expansion of the Gardiner designed by KPMB Architects, and was the executive lead of the successful capital campaign supporting this initiative. The redesigned Gardiner Museum, and the programs it has made possible, have enhanced the Museum’s profile and audience.

Prior to joining the Gardiner Museum, Alexandra held senior management positions at the Canadian Opera Company, the Harbourfront Reading Series and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Alexandra graduated from Queen’s University with an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Classical Studies, and received a Masters Degree in Business Administration from York University.

She is an alumna of The Judy Project at the Rotman School of Business and The Shannon leadership Institute. In 2007 Alexandra was recognized by the Women’s Executive Network as one of the “Top 100 Women most powerful women in Canada”. Alexandra is currently on the Advisory Council of the Arts Management MBA Program at The Schulich School of Business.

Sheila Snelgrove
Executive Assistant & Secretary to the Board

After many years in the not-for-profit sector, Sheila joined the Gardiner Museum in January 1999 as Secretary to the Board and then soon afterwards as Executive Assistant. When the Museum launched their first Building Campaign, ALL FIRED UP! Sheila accepted the position of Campaign Manager.