© JASON GROW/All Rights Reserved
OLIVER BARKER
Director, Cape Ann Museum
Oliver Barker was appointed Director of the Cape Ann Museum (CAM), in April 2019 and has led the Museum through a period of tremendous growth. Responsible for management of all areas of the Museum, Barker oversaw the implementation of the 2019 nationally acclaimed Homer at the Beach: A Marine Painter's Journey, 1869-1880 exhibition. Drawn from 40 public and private collections, the exhibit attracted record visitors and showcased a selection of Homer’s finest marine works, many of which were inspired by the artist’s encounters in and around Cape Ann.
Throughout 2020 Barker worked with the Museum’s talented staff, dedicated Board, volunteers and members to realize the Museum’s commitment to continuing to strengthen its relevance in the Cape Ann community and vision to become one of the finest regional museums in the United States.
Prior to joining CAM, Barker most recently served as Manager, Foundation, Government and International Relations for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). At the MFA, Barker supervised a portfolio of fundraising and international engagements. He was responsible for building relationships and partnership initiatives with national and international foundations, corporations and governments. Additionally, he served as cultural diplomacy protocol officer on behalf of the Museum, developing and maintaining relationships with foreign consulates, embassies and stewarding connections with international delegations.
Barker, who has family ties in Gloucester and lives in Wenham, Mass. with his family, was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia. He is a cultural management professional with 20 years of experience within global visual arts arenas. Prior to joining the MFA, he worked as Curator & Projects Director for the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. He began his career as the Director of Education & Visitor Services at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy, where he lived for nearly a decade. Barker holds a master’s degree in Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Melbourne and an Honors Degree in Fine Arts, Painting and Printmaking from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), in Melbourne, Australia.
Derek O’Brien
O’Brien joined PEM in 2016, after serving as Associate Creative Director for the global marketing agency DigitasLBi. With a deep knowledge of digital marketing, design, and communications, O'Brien leads the museum's design, advertising, editorial, communications, digital media, and photography teams. With over 15 years of full-service advertising experience, O’Brien has a track record of creating award-winning campaigns for Bank of America, Lenovo, Keurig, Reebok, National Grid, and many other organizations.
Prior to his professional career, O’Brien studied at UMass Lowell, where he received his B.A. in Fine Arts. He is also a veteran who served in the Army National Guard from 1999 to 2008, and was on active duty from 2001 to 2004, which included deployment to Iraq. In recent years, O’Brien has volunteered with Home Base, a non-profit dedicated to helping post-9/11 service members, veterans and their families heal from the Invisible Wounds of War. He also actively serves on the Board of Directors for Destination Salem
Kristin Noon
Executive Director, Wenham Museum.
Anna Siedzik
Hamilton resident Anna Siedzik is a freelance Museum Registrar and Collections Manager specializing in comprehensive exhibition management and logistics, both domestic and international. Her areas of expertise include collection management, archives and digitization, contract negotiation, federal indemnity, fine art handling/shipping, and customs documentation.
Anna holds an M.A. in Museology from the University of Washington, and a B.A. in history from Yale. Her client list includes the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Peabody Essex Museum; the Clark Art Institute; the Museum of Modern Art; and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, among many others.
In addition to her museum work, Siedzik holds a seat on the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School Committee, and volunteers as a consulting activist and community leader for a variety of organizations related to affordable housing, human rights, youth empowerment, and gender equity.
Chris LaPointe
Director of Land Conservation
Chris provides leadership in land conservation throughout Essex County and leads our campaign to conserve 10,000 acres in the region. In his time at Greenbelt, he has worked to conserve more than 1,300 acres with a fair market value of more than $15 million.
Chris helps landowners navigate the financial and sometimes emotional aspects of conserving their land and making decisions for the future. He especially enjoys the process of engaging with communities around their values: close to home recreation, protection of wildlife habitat and farms, and clean drinking water.
His signature project is the John J. Donovan Reservation & Sagamore Hill Conservation Area - a complex, multi-partner project that required the mobilization of $5.1 million to create a corridor of 525 acres of permanently protected land.
Chris, who has degrees in environmental policy and natural resource planning from Colby College and the University of Vermont, enjoys hiking, gardening and exploring the natural beauty of Essex County. Before coming to Greenbelt, Chris worked for 12 years for The Trust for Public Land, where he conserved more than 2,750 acres across Massachusetts, with a fair market value of $75 million.
