Museum Leadership Veteran Genny Boccardo-Dubey Appointed as Chief Operating Officer at Penn Museum

PHILADELPHIA—Genny Boccardo-Dubey has been appointed as the Penn Museum’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). With more than 20 years of leadership experience across museums and cultural organizations, she will begin her new role on October 31, 2022.

Boccardo-Dubey served as the Chief Advancement Officer and acting Chief Operating Officer at Mural Arts Philadelphia, where she led the strategic management of revenue sources, communications, and operations.

“I am honored and excited by the opportunity to be part of the team at the Penn Museum as the new COO,” Boccardo-Dubey says. “I cannot imagine a better place to continue developing my passion to make art, history, and learning opportunities accessible to all.”

From 2015 to 2020, she was the Deputy Director at the Laguna Art Museum, where she expanded its art education programs among diverse communities. She also managed a $15 million capital and endowment campaign to transform its gallery spaces, improve its storage facilities, and ensure future financial sustainability.

In addition, Boccardo-Dubey has held leadership positions at the Tate in London, the Orange County Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Currently, she serves as Treasurer of the Board of Governors for the Print Center in Philadelphia and is an active member of ArtTable, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the American Association of Museums.

“Genny brings deep experience to stewarding our institution’s operational and fiscal sustainability, having served in various museum leadership roles around the world,” says Dr. Christopher Woods, Penn Museum Williams Director and Avalon Professor in the Humanities at Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences. “Combined with her passion for expanding cultural access, Genny’s appointment couldn’t have been better timed, as our Museum embarks on a new strategic visioning process this fall.”

As the Penn Museum’s COO, Boccardo-Dubey will lead its budget and financial functions, building operations and security, information technology, and human resource functions, as well as revenue generating areas, including visitor services, catering, venue sales and events, and the gift shop. Reporting to the Williams Director, the COO will join an expanded Executive Team administering the Museum’s $27M+ operating and capital budgets.

Boccardo-Dubey earned her B.A. in international relations from the University of San Diego and an M.B.A. in international business and marketing from the University of San Francisco. She also earned an M.A. in art history and museum studies from Case Western Reserve University, a program tied closely to the Cleveland Museum of Art. In 2017 Genny completed the Getty Leadership Institute program (recently renamed the Museum Leadership Institute).