Oscar The Academy Awards

Katharine DeShaw, Photo by Brant Brogan

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced the appointment of Katharine DeShaw as its Managing Director, Advancement and External Relations.

Beginning on November 1, DeShaw will direct all aspects of fundraising, including completion of the $388 million capital campaign to support the new Museum, now under construction. She will play a key leadership role in expanding external relations efforts, including community and civic outreach, while supporting publicity and marketing initiatives for the Museum. 

“As we forge ahead toward our opening, Katharine brings not just expertise but also superb leadership, born of nearly three decades of success in philanthropy and the arts,” said Kerry Brougher, Director of the Academy Museum.  “She has the skills, the vision and, above all, the talent to help us create the great movie museum that the film capital of the world expects and deserves.”

DeShaw said, “I can’t imagine any opportunity more exciting than helping to bring the Academy Museum to the public in Los Angeles and movie fans around the world. The new facility will be extraordinary, the exhibitions and programs under development are remarkable and the base of support is strong. I can’t wait to begin fundraising for the remaining third of the $388 million campaign.”

Recognized nationally as a leader in the arts and philanthropy, DeShaw has led record-breaking fundraising campaigns for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the New York City Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City. She most recently led the consulting firm Philanthropology, which focuses on best practices in philanthropy for clients in a variety of areas, including the arts, culture, the environment, health and social justice. Ms. DeShaw serves on the faculty of the Getty Leadership Institute, an executive management program for international museum directors, and designed its fundraising curriculum.

In 2005, DeShaw was recruited by the presidents of the Ford and Rockefeller foundations to serve as the Founding Executive Director of United States Artists (USA). In eight years, she built a national board of directors and secured a donor base of arts patrons that included Michael Bloomberg, Eli and Edye Broad, Agnes Gund, Elaine Wynn and Target. She secured $56 million in funding – including a $10 million endowment – for the USA Fellows program, providing grants to artists across all disciplines. She also incubated USA Projects, the world’s first crowdfunding website for artists.