Deborah Kasindorf has joined the Evanston History Center as Executive Director after spending the last eight years in the museum world on the East Coast.

Most recently she was CEO/Executive Director of the AKC Museum of the Dog in mid-town Manhattan. Through its fine arts collection of 18th and 19th-century paintings, illustrations, sculptures, and bronze objects, the Museum’s mission is to celebrate the unique bond between humans and canines. Contemporary photography and paintings are a more recent focus in this special institution.

Before joining the Museum of the Dog, Deborah spent close to seven years in various senior positions, including interim Director at The Newark Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the state of New Jersey. Newark’s collections include the Ballantine House, a historic Victorian mansion, as well as significant holdings in American, Asian, and African-American art.

Deborah has also spent considerable time on the West Coast as the Director of External Relations at the Seattle Children’s Theater, where professional adult equity actors, writers, and directors create premier plays and musicals to entertain, educate, and inspire young audiences.

Prior to her positions in these cultural institutions, she enjoyed a career in advertising and marketing, including six years at Starbucks Coffee Company in the US Marketing group and as Director of Starbucks’s in-house advertising and promotions studio. Deborah holds a Bachelor of Arts in American History from Mills College in Oakland, CA.

Deborah recently relocated to the area from New Jersey. She and her husband, Matt Kasindorf, are in the process of settling into their new home in Evanston.