TACOMA, WA.- The Board of Trustees of the Museum of Glass announces the appointment of Susan Warner as Executive Director/Curator effective March 20, 2012. Warner has served as interim director since January 3 when former director Timothy Close resigned. Her role as the Museum’s curator remains unchanged.

As director, Warner will oversee the continuing development of the Museum of Glass as it begins its tenth year of operation. Opened in 2002, the Museum has attracted 1.8 million visitors from all 50 states and 75 countries. In July, the Museum will celebrate its 10 year anniversary.

“We are very pleased that Susan has agreed to step into the role of Museum of Glass director,” comments Board Chair Steve Loeb. “Susan knows the institution better than anyone and she is the ideal candidate to lead the organization as we enter into our second decade of service. She has continually demonstrated her ability to inspire and engage Museum visitors, supporters, artists and staff during her tenure at MOG, and the Board is confident that she is the best person to move the institution forward.”

Warner joined Museum of Glass as the Director of Education in February 2001. In 2006, she was appointed Director of Public Programs, overseeing the curatorial, education and Hot Shop departments, and in 2009 appointed Deputy Director. In October 2011, Warner also assumed the role of curator. “We are in the process of reassessing the internal organizational structure at this time and will redistribute some of Susan’s current responsibilities,” states Loeb.

“I am truly honored to assume the role of Executive Director and thank the Board of Trustees and the community for all their incredible support over the years,” states Warner. “In this, our tenth year, we are excited to begin the process of strategizing our next decade of service in dialogue with our local, national and international audiences and constituents.”

Warner’s education work has been honored by the City of Tacoma, with an Art at Work award (2003), and Antioch University’s Horace Mann Award (2007, alumni category). Prior to joining Museum of Glass , Warner was Director of Education at the Seattle Children’s Museum. She also served as Curator of Education at the State Capital Museum in Olympia and as Assistant Curator, Curator of Decorative Arts at the Dayton Art Institute. Her early career included extensive curatorial work in collection management and exhibition development. In the early 1990s, Warner made the transition to museum education. In 1997, she received Washington State ’s Gold Apple Award for Excellence in Education and, in 1998, she accepted a Coming Up Taller award for her program, The Experimental Gallery. Born in Geita , Tanzania , Warner earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Southampton University in England and a Master of Arts in Education from Antioch University in Seattle .