Laguna Art Museum Appoints Victoria Gerard First Deputy Director

LAGUNA BEACH, CA—Laguna Art Museum welcomes a new staff member to fill a newly created role. Victoria Zagarino Gerard is coming aboard September 7 as LAM's first deputy director. Gerard brings more than 15 years of experience in museum management, program and exhibition development, and research.

Before joining the Laguna Art Museum, Gerard spent 11 years at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. She held many titles, beginning with assistant exhibition coordinator and eventually rising to Vice President of Programs and Collections in September 2019.

Her leadership was crucial to developing a virtual museum in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She built partnerships with parents, schools and adult-service organizations to offer a variety of educational opportunities.

As VP, she also organized special exhibits curated from museums and collections worldwide and oversaw all aspects related to Bowers' permanent collection.

At LAM, Gerard will collaborate on the museum's overall mission, increase engagement with the public, and grow the financial security of the museum.

"I am proud to join the team at the Laguna Art Museum,” said Gerard. “I am energized by the museum's deep roots in the community and the meaningful and important contributions it has made to the appreciation of California art throughout its history. It is a delight to continue to contribute to Orange County's rich cultural landscape via this new role.”

Gerard earned an MA in Arts Management from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. She holds a BA from Villanova University, where she studied Public History and History, which led to an expertise in early American and Federalist period material culture.

While the museum welcomes Gerard aboard, they are also saying farewell to communications director Cody Lee.

For 5 years, Lee brought exceptional writing skills, organizational prowess, and extreme kindness to his role. Reading his press materials on exhibitions and special events was an art education in itself. Patch and museum fans will miss Lee, but we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.