Hello Everyone,

• The Leadership Team (LT) had an off-site retreat at the ROM on Wednesday. I believe that we can always learn from others and being at the ROM was a treat. We systemically discussed each facet of our museum and focused on identifying things we do at an extraordinary level. I wanted to make sure that every LT member realizes that excellence is happening throughout the institution. In addition to visiting galleries, we talked about our collective responsibility on LT and throughout the AGO to reduce the number of meetings!

• We recently implemented a re-organization of Leadership Team and the creation of the Advancement division that includes Marketing & Design and Digital Services, Public Affairs & Communications, Development, Membership & Visitor Services, and Staff & Volunteer Resources (SVR) all reporting to Deputy Director Alicia Vandermeer. The intent of the re-org is to strengthen our ability to be visitor focused. I am particularly excited to see the emergence of the Marketing Dept. led by Corinne Rusch-Drutz, as it brings together many talented people into one team.

• Next week, Theaster Gates: How to Build a House Museum opens. I walked through the exhibition with Kitty Scott and know it will be deeply relevant to contemporary conversations about race, identity, and culture. Please make every effort to see the exhibition (and yes, you can dance in it!).

• Earlier this week, I had a productive conversation with the entire curatorial team about our need to re-install the permanent collections. This is an important project, and I will keep you all up to date on the progress.

Stephan