Michael Orlando has held several positions in both the arts and culture and private sectors. Working in advertising and account management from 2009 to 2014, he served as both a territory manager and lead when acquiring new publications. Michael is pleased to rejoin the arts sector full-time as Senior Manager, Operations at the Gardiner.

Outside the Museum, Michael is the Founding Co-Artistic Director of the Theatre Lab, a Toronto-based company that was established in 2008. He has worked extensively with both Canadian and international theatre and performance companies as a playwright, actor, director, dramaturge, and producer. Michael is also a partner at Collective Studio, a rental space and community-hub located in the Bloordale neighbourhood of Toronto.

Michael is thrilled to be at the Gardiner, helping to grow and develop all the commercial aspects of the Museum. He is a graduate of the Humber Theatre Conservatory and lives with his wife near Trinity-Bellwoods Park in Downtown Toronto.

Meredith is an independent specialist in early European porcelain, dining and social culture of the eighteenth century, as well as theatre history. Educated at the University of East Anglia and Manchester University, she first joined the Gardiner Museum in 1983. As Acting Director and Curator, she worked with the team responsible for opening the museum. Subsequently, she became the museum’s curator, a role she retained for over twenty years.

In 2004 Meredith left the Gardiner Museum to produce a major three-volume monograph for the Melinda and Paul Sullivan Foundation: Fired by Passion, Vienna Baroque Porcelain of Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier. The English edition was launched with an exhibition she co-curated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 2009; the German edition at the Liechtenstein Palace Museum in Vienna. Meredith was the principal contributor to Daily Pleasures: French Ceramics from the MaryLou Boone Collection (Los Angeles County Museum of Art: 2012). She is currently working on the English edition of a catalogue for the Kiscell Museum in Budapest.

Meredith has curated over 20 exhibitions, published approximately 50 articles and books, and has made four films with the CBC. In 1990, one of her articles was republished in Best Canadian Essays, and again in Prose Models for Undergraduates. Her 2001 publication, Harlequin Unmasked: The Commedia dell’Arte and Porcelain Sculpture was awarded three international awards for research and theatre history. Meredith teaches and lectures extensively in North America and Europe. She has sat on a variety of Boards, and is the honorary member of three ceramics institutions. In 2005 she was honoured by the Gardiner Museum Volunteers, who named the Meredith Chilton Commedia dell’Arte Gallery in perpetuity at the Gardiner Museum.

After a ten year absence, Meredith has rejoined the Gardiner Museum team as Acting Chief Curator.

Dr. Rachel Gotlieb is an award-winning ceramic, craft, and design historian and writer who has curated over 20 exhibitions and published extensively on the subject. She is the 2017 Theodore Randall International Chair in Art and Design at Alfred University, and is currently writing a book entitled Ceramics in Victorian Painting and Literature: Meanings and Metaphors.

Rachel is also Adjunct Curator at the Gardiner Museum and co-curated the exhibition True Nordic: How Scandinavian Influenced Canadian Design (2016). She was previously the Gardiner’s Chief Curator and Interim Executive Director, during which time she curated Clare Twomey: Piece by Piece, Ante Liu: Mono No Ma, Transformation by Fire: Women Overcoming Violence Through Clay, Go East: Canadians Create in Clay, and Connections: Canadian and British Studio Ceramics. Rachel teaches design history and curatorial practice at the Sheridan College School of Craft and Design and the Ontario College of Art and Design University. She served as the founding curator of the Design Exchange in Toronto, and co-wrote the landmark publication Design in Canada (Knopf Canada, 2001).

Karine Tsoumis is a specialist in sixteenth-century Venetian art and culture, with a particular interest in material culture, the domestic space, and family history. She received her Masters’ Degree in Art History from McGill University and her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto with a dissertation entitled Bernardino Licinio: Portraiture, Kinship and Community in Renaissance Venice.

As Curator at the Gardiner Museum, Karine works on special exhibitions and leads research on the permanent collection with a focus on Italian Renaissance maiolica.

Siobhan Boyd graduated from York University with an MA in Anthropology and an MSc in Archaeology from UCL, University of London, England. Her research interests include cultures from the Ancient Americas and Ontario prehistory. As a practicing archaeologist, she spends most of her summers in Ecuador where she excavates Inca and pre-Inca fortresses.

Siobhan joined the Gardiner in 2002, and currently heads the Education & Programs Department, which includes school programs, clay classes, and other adult programming.

Kelvin Browne joined the Gardiner Museum as Executive Director and CEO in 2013. Prior to this he held several different positions at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), including Managing Director of the Institute of Contemporary Culture and Vice President of Marketing and Major Exhibitions. Kelvin is also well-known as a magazine and newspaper columnist on design, and authored the book Bold Visions (2007) about the architecture of the ROM.

Kelvin was born in Penticton, B.C., and graduated from St. John’s-Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg before attending university. He holds a Masters in Architecture from the University of Toronto.

Rachel Weiner joined the Gardiner Museum in 2015 as Communications and Volunteer Coordinator before taking on the role of Senior Manager, Marketing in 2017. Prior to the Gardiner, she worked in the Education and Marketing departments at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg (2012 – 2015). Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with an Honours Specialization in History from the University of Western Ontario (2007), and both an MA in Art History (2010) and B.Ed (2012) from the University of Toronto.

John Farrell is a professional fundraiser with over fifteen years experience. Prior to being named the Chief Development Officer at the Gardiner Museum, he served as the Director of Philanthropy at The 519 (2013-2017), a Toronto-based LGBTQ community centre.

Working at the Gardiner marks a welcome return to the arts and cultural sector for John. He began his fundraising career working as the Manager of Development and Communications at Necessary Angel Theatre Company (2001-2003), and then as Director of Development at Opera Atelier (2003-2005).

John’s cultural institution fundraising experience began as a Campaign Associate on the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Transformation AGO Campaign (2007-2009), followed by various positions at the Toronto Public Library Foundation, including Manager of the re:vitalize Capital Campaign (2007-2011) and Manager, Major Gifts (2011-2013).

John has a long history of volunteering in the community, including as the Board Chair of The Word on the Street (Toronto). He is a proud member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and has served as a mentor for AFP’s Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship.

John completed his studies at the University of Waterloo in Urban and Regional Planning.

Sophie Vayro brings over ten years of experience in arts and cultural administration to her role as Board Secretary and Executive Assistant. Prior to joining the Gardiner, she ran her own arts and non-profit administration business in Toronto working with a variety of music, theatre, and dance companies.

Outside the Gardiner, Sophie continues to work with the Gryphon Trio and the ARC Ensemble (Artists of the Royal Conservatory). After completing a degree in History at Simon Fraser University and a certificate in Sport and Event Marketing Management at George Brown College, she went on to work in development, both at Tapestry New Opera and the development consultancy Hennessy & Associates, where she assisted in securing private sector support for a client base of small to medium-sized cultural, environmental, and social service non-profit organizations.

Sophie has two young daughters and is an avid recreational soccer player.

Lauren Gould has worked in a variety of roles within the arts and higher education sectors with a focus on promoting public engagement, implementing organizational improvements, and working in collaboration with a range of partners.

Lauren began her career in Montreal working for both Concordia University and Centennial Academy and College managing a variety of fundraising, events, and engagement programs. From 2005 to 2009, Lauren managed the Education Department at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, part of National Museums Liverpool in the UK. Returning to Canada in 2010, Gould was appointed General Manager at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, overseeing the administration of the organization’s four divisions and day-to-day operations, as well as authoring the organization’s first strategic plan. Joining the Gardiner Museum in 2013 as the Audience Development Manager, Lauren served as the Senior Manager of Development and Programs from 2014 to 2017 when she was appointed Chief Operating Officer.

Lauren completed her B.A. at Concordia University specializing in Creative Writing, Art History, and Studio Art. She also has an M.A. in Cultural Leadership from Liverpool John Moores University.