PASADENA, CA.- The Board of Directors of the Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) announced today the appointment of Jenkins Shannon as Executive Director of the museum. Ms. Shannon will start in this position immediately. She joined the PMCA in 2004 as the Director of Corporate and Foundation Affairs and over the past three years served as the museum’s Associate Director and Acting Director. “The Board of Directors could not be more thrilled about having Jenkins as the Executive Director; she is a remarkable leader and has been absolutely instrumental in the success, growth and stability of the PMCA over the past five years,” says Reed Halladay, Chairman of the Board. “Despite the huge economic challenges that lay ahead for all non-profits, we feel very fortunate to be in a strong fiscal position right now. In fact, we are financially stronger today than we were a year ago, and this is in large part a result of Jenkins’s contributions. This is a pivotal time in the museum’s history and we are poised to make great strides in our exploration and scholarship of California art.”

Long admired for her stewardship of the financial and development areas of the museum, Ms. Shannon has also guided the programming of the PMCA with successful exhibitions from artists as varied as California Art Club member Benjamin Chambers Brown, to contemporary Bay Area painter Jennifer Poon during her tenure as Acting Director after Founding Director Wesley Jessup departed in 2006. “It’s an honor to lead the museum during this incredible time of transformation and progress. Our current exhibition Data + Art: Art and Science in the Age of Information had one of the biggest openings in the museum’s history. Over the past five years I have seen our organization grow and strengthen. The PMCA Board of Directors and staff are fiercely inspired by our programming and are committed to contributing to Southern California’s vibrant art community. I have no doubt that we will not only uphold the museum’s mission to present the evolution of California art and design, but that we will expand and deepen our commitment to becoming the leading voice in recognizing California artists’ extraordinary contributions,” says Ms. Shannon.

Ms. Shannon replaces former Executive Director Christopher Mount. Before arriving at the PMCA, Ms. Shannon had a corporate career in the entertainment industry where she worked for the Disney Channel, MGM Television International and Sony Pictures International Television. Born in Hong Kong, she received her BA from UCLA and her MBA from Cal Poly University Pomona. She lives in South Pasadena with her husband Robert.

The mission of the PMCA is to present the evolution of California art and design through exhibitions, and to explore the cultural dynamics and influences that are unique to California in all media. Construction of the museum began in December 2000 and the completed facility opened its doors to the public in June 2002. Designed by the Los Angeles architecture firm MDA Johnson Favaro Architecture and Urban Design, the museum is housed in a three-story, mixed-use facility and features 8,000 SF of gallery space.