WINTER PARK, FL.- The Rollins Museum of Art at Rollins College announces the formation of a National Advisory Task Force as it prepares for the opening of its new, purpose-built facility in 2028, designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners. The Task Force will serve as advisors on the Museum’s opening and early programming. This group of colleagues from across the museum and arts fields was selected by Leslie Anne Anderson, RMA’s Bruce A. Beal Executive Director, for the relevance of their expertise to the strategic vision of the Museum.

The Rollins Museum of Art’s National Advisory Task Force Members:

• Rita Adler (Aspen, CO, and Winter Park, FL)
• Barbara Alfond (Weston, MA)
• Janalee Emmer, PhD, Director, Brigham Young University Museum of Art (Provo, UT)
• Beth Finch, PhD, Director of Research and Communications, Terra Foundation for American Art (Chicago, IL)
• Saisha Grayson, PhD, Curator of Time-Based Media, Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, DC)
• Katie Hanson, PhD, William and Ann Elfers Curator of Paintings, Art of Europe, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, MA)
• Jamilee Lacy, Executive Director, Frye Art Museum (Seattle, WA)
• Liz Parks, Parks Art Advisory (New York, NY)
• Erik Pihl, Norrland Consulting (Seattle, WA)
• Mary Ryan, Mary Ryan Gallery and Ryan Lee Gallery (New York, NY)

The National Advisory Task Force is a time-limited, non-governing group. It was convened with the purpose of leveraging RMA’s new 32,000 sq. ft. facility to achieve national programmatic relevance, strengthen lending relationships, and enhance scholarly visibility in its first three years.

“The RMA’s new facility will open new possibilities for the Museum and the College, allowing us to collaborate with leading contemporary artists and showcase our world class collection in dynamic new ways. The expertise and insight of this national advisory task force will be instrumental as we seize this pivotal moment and advance the Museum’s vision for the future,” said Anderson.

Following its inaugural meeting in August 2026, the National Advisory Task Force will continue to meet annually to consult on strategic positioning for RMA, helping to strengthen partnership opportunities with museums and arts organizations nationwide.

RMA’s National Advisory Task Force:

Rita Adler

Rita Adler is deeply committed to philanthropy and community engagement. She and her husband, Jeffrey, established the Rita and Jeffrey Adler Family Foundation, where Rita serves as President. The Foundation's primary mission focuses on children's health, education, and exposure to the arts. Rita actively supports a broad range of organizations, including Advent Health for Children (board service), The Roth Jewish Community Center (board service), the UCF Foundation (board service), Congregation Ohev Shalom, the Aspen Art Museum (Arts Education Circle and Collector Committee), Jazz Aspen, the Washington Institute and the Aspen Institute. Rita is also a member of the advisory board for Flying Horse Press Editions for UCF, and a Partner in the VIA Art Fund. Rita received her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and her JD from Northwestern University School of Law.

Barbara Alfond

Barbara Alfond has been a steadfast champion of the arts at Rollins College, her alma mater. For decades, she and her husband, Ted Alfond, have played a vital role in strengthening the College’s cultural landscape through leadership, philanthropy, and vision. Since 2012, they have been building the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at the Rollins Museum of Art, significantly enriching both the campus and the broader Central Florida community. Her work reflects a deep belief in the power of the arts to inspire learning and foster connection. Through her sustained generosity and leadership, Barbara has helped position Rollins, as well as the Colby College Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as vibrant hubs for artistic engagement and innovation. In 2026, Barbara and Ted received the Jetté Award for Leadership in the Arts from Colby College Museum of Art.

Janalee Emmer

Janalee Emmer is the Executive Director and Head Curator at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Provo, UT. She previously served as the associate director of exhibitions and programming, head of education, and longtime curator. As director, she has been instrumental in acquiring a broader selection of art, including work by Ernie Barnes, Elizabeth Catlett, Victoria Sambunaris, Valentina Sireech, Eugene Tapahe, and Henry Ossawa Tanner. Under her leadership, the BYU Museum of Art has brought world-class art exhibitions to campus, including Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society, showcasing 163 objects spanning 4,000 years of art, and The Sense of Beauty: Six Centuries of Paintings from Museo de Arte de Ponce. Her previous museum experience includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State, and the Springville Museum of Art. She has taught at Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Tennessee, and Bucknell University. She received her doctorate in art history at Pennsylvania State University in 2009 and her master’s and bachelor’s degree at BYU. Her area of study is modern and contemporary art, with particular interests in 19th-century French art, women artists, and American art.

Beth Finch

Beth Finch is the Director of Research and Communications at the Terra Foundation for American Art, where she leads messaging that illuminates the Foundation’s research findings through the transformative stories and insights of grantee partners. She brings to this role her expertise as an art historian and curator, and a career-long engagement with works on paper, contemporary art, and American art. Prior to joining the Terra Foundation, Beth worked at the Colby College Museum of Art, in Waterville, Maine, serving as Lunder Curator of American Art (2008–21) and as Head Curator (2021–25). During her tenure, she organized dozens of exhibitions, wrote and edited many related publications, and helped strengthen and build the Museum’s collection and curatorial team. Earlier in her career, Beth was based in New York and worked at the Drawing Center and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Beth holds degrees in art history from the University of California at Berkeley (BA) and the Graduate Center, City University of New York (PhD). She participated in the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program, was awarded a Center for Curatorial Leadership fellowship, and received an Art Writers Grant from the Warhol Foundation.

Saisha Grayson

Saisha Grayson is the Curator of Time-Based Media at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. where she spearheads related research, acquisitions, programs, and exhibitions, including Pride @ SAAM (2019), Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies (2023), which was accompanied by SAAM's first digital catalogue, and focus shows of newly collected works by Carrie Mae Weems (2023), Isaac Julien (2023), Tuan Andrew Nguyen (2024), Shahzia Sikander (2025) and Coco Fusco (upcoming). In 2027, she will bring Saya Woolfalk’s midcareer survey to SAAM’s Renwick Gallery. Before joining SAAM, she was the first Assistant Curator at the Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, where she served as organizing curator of Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey (2013), curator of Chitra Ganesh: Eyes of Time (2014), and co-curator of Agitprop! (2015). She received her PhD in art history from the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), with the dissertation, “Cellist, Catalyst, Collaborator: The Work of Charlotte Moorman.”

Katie Hanson

Katie Hanson is William and Ann Elfers Curator of European Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Her recent special exhibitions at the MFA Boston have included: Renoir and Love (2026-27 with Musée d’Orsay and National Gallery London); Van Gogh and the Roulin Family (2025-26 with the Van Gogh Museum); Monet and Boston: Lasting Impression (2020); Cézanne: In and Out of Time (2020); Klimt and Schiele: Drawn (2018); French Pastels: Treasures from the Vault (2018); and Pairing Picasso (2016). Her touring exhibition, French Impressionism from the MFA Boston, was presented at National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne (2021 & 2025) and La Parisienne: Portraying Women in the Capital of Culture, 1715-1965 was presented at the Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Setagaya Art Museum, and Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum (2017-18). Her next project at the MFA is Degas Portraits: Facing Modernity (2027-28 with the Städel Museum). Hanson holds a PhD from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York with a specialization in 19th- and early 20th-century European art, as well as an MA from Williams College and a dual BA in art history and French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jamilee Lacy

Jamilee Lacy is the Executive Director of the Frye Art Museum, a modern and contemporary art museum in Seattle. She is also a curator and art historian whose work focuses on visual artists’ use of architecture, design, and craft techniques. Lacy has held curatorial and educational roles at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Northwestern University, and the Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City. Most recently, she served as the inaugural Director and Chief Curator of Providence College Galleries in Rhode Island, where she also co-founded My HomeCourt, a nonprofit public art initiative, and the Interlace Grant Fund, which supports artist-led projects. Lacy holds a BFA in Studio Art and Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MA in Comparative Art and Literature from Northwestern University. In 2022, she was a fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership.

Liz Parks

Liz Parks is the founder of Parks Art Advisory, a New York City-based art advisory firm that builds and manages bespoke collections of contemporary art for both new and seasoned art collectors. Launched in 2008, the firm’s philosophy is rooted in uniting a deep background in art history, a keen sense of the contemporary art market and strong connections in the field to offer clients a comprehensive and ethically driven, art advisory experience. Prior to starting her own business, Parks held positions at Christie’s auction house, Artnet, Diane Upright Fine Arts, and several prominent NYC galleries. She sits on the board of the Association of Professional Art Advisors, a not for-profit organization of leading international art advisors who adhere to the highest standards of practice in their field. She holds a BA in Art History from Rollins College and an MA in Arts Administration from NYU.

Erik Pihl

Erik Pihl is a Seattle-based nonprofit and philanthropy leader with nearly three decades of experience advancing museums, cultural institutions, and mission-driven organizations through public and private philanthropy, community engagement, strategic partnerships and marketing. His career has included senior external affairs and advancement roles at mid and large-size institutions, including the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Science Center, and National Nordic Museum. At the Nordic, he played an instrumental role in its transformation into a national museum. He brings extensive experience in philanthropy, board and professional development, creating strong and effective teams, community engagement, and building relationships across the cultural, corporate, foundation, and public sectors. He is Principal and Founder of Norrland Consulting and serves as President of the Swedish American Chambers of Commerce.

Mary Ryan

Mary Ryan is the founder of Mary Ryan Gallery, established in 1981 and internationally recognized for its expertise in modern, postwar, and contemporary prints and works on paper. Under her leadership, the gallery has presented hundreds of exhibitions, advanced the legacies of major artists and estates, championed women artists, and played a key role in the American renaissance of printmaking. She is also co-founder of Ryan Lee Gallery, known for its innovative programming and support of emerging, mid-career, and established artists working across diverse practices. Mary serves as Treasurer of the Art Dealers Association of America and Chair of the ADAA Fair Committee.