National Portrait Gallery Announces Jennifer Moran as new Director of Advancement

The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery announces Jennifer Moran as the museum’s new director of advancement. Effective today, Moran will lead the Portrait Gallery’s fundraising department, which supports the museum’s mission of narrating the multifaceted story of America through visual biography. As a member of the museum’s executive team, Moran will oversee strategy development and execution for annual fundraising, planned giving, special events and the biennial American Portrait Gala. The 2019 American Portrait Gala, held in November, raised more than $2 million in support of the museum’s endowment for exhibitions.

Moran most recently served as the executive director for development at the Art Institute of Chicago from 2016 through 2019, directing the fundraising campaign in support of the museum’s major annual exhibitions. Under her leadership, the museum raised more than $12 million annually. Moran first joined the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012 as director of exhibitions and special gifts.

“The National Portrait Gallery’s exhibitions, public programs and content-based initiatives would not be possible without the support of privately raised funds,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “We are proud to be open 364 days a year, free of charge, and the work our team does to supplement funds allocated by Congress is essential for all content-related initiatives. Raising interest and support, both financial and otherwise, for the arts and cultural institutions has been Jennifer Moran’s lifework. That is evidenced by her successes in Chicago, and we are delighted to welcome Jennifer to both the National Portrait Gallery and to Washington.” 

Prior to her time at the Art Institute of Chicago, Moran spent more than a decade in the development office at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, eventually securing the Orchestra’s first seven-figure, unrestricted annual fund gift as the director of planned giving and governing members. She worked with the orchestra from 2000 to 2012.

Moran earned two master’s degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the first in modern art history, theory and criticism and the second in arts administration and policy. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. Over the course of her career, Moran has also worked as a National Programs Fellow at the Tate Britain, as an associate producer at the Chicago Humanities Festival, and as a producer on the Illinois Humanities Council.