Anna E. von Gehr joined the University of Virginia in August 2009 as the first Director of Development for the U.Va. Art Museums. She served as the chief development officer for the Fralin Museum of Art and the Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum. Under her leadership she created the museums’ first development and membership program. Working in partnership with museum directors, she completely restructured the programming for both organizations resulting in dramatic increases in attendance and annual support. In addition to stabilizing the museums and their role at the University, she completed a $30 million campaign for the Fralin Museum of Art as part of the University’s ambitious $3 billion campaign.
In September 2012 Anna began her current role as the University’s first Director of University Arts Development. In this role she works in partnership with the Vice Provost for the Arts creating and supporting strategic pan-University Arts initiatives. As the principal gift officer for the Arts she coordinates University leadership in their Arts fundraising activities while assisting all Arts units in garnering transformative philanthropic support.
Anna previously served as the Director of Development for the College at Washington and Lee University. In that role, she managed the campaign priorities for the more than 50 departments and programs housed in the College. Although she has experience in major gift fundraising at the University level, her passion and expertise clearly lies with museums and the arts.
Anna has worked as the Major Gifts and Planned Giving Manager at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA and as the Major Gifts and Planned Giving Coordinator at the Oakland Museum of California.
Anna majored in History at the University of California Santa Cruz. She was a Regent Scholar and focused her undergraduate research on colonial America and the abolitionist movement. She earned her masters in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University with an emphasis in Non-profit Management and Development.
Anna currently resides in Crozet, Virginia with her husband, artist Rob Tarbell, and their two-year old daughter. Anna von Gehr will be the 2013 History Undergraduate Research Symposium Keynote Speaker.
