Leadership & Staff

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Dr. Victoria Ramirez, Executive Director

A strategic leader in the museum field with more than 20 years of executive-level experience, Dr. Victoria Ramirez is helping to guide the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts through an historic transformation – expanding its historic MacArthur Park campus and reimagining its programming. Working closely with AMFA leadership, she is helping to build an inclusive, accessible institution ready to reach new audiences while honoring its rich legacy.

In her extensive career, Dr. Ramirez has developed exhibitions and education programs, led renovation projects, and launched digital initiatives to increase museum attendance and engagement. She has also played an integral role in fundraising, securing support from significant national foundations and major corporations.

Dr. Ramirez came directly to AMFA from her position as director of the El Paso Museum of Art, a municipal museum that serves community members of all ages. Previously, she served as director of the Bullock Texas State History Museum. She was also the W.T. and Louise J. Moran Education Director at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where she oversaw long-range planning and taught art history and appreciation to children and adults.

In 2022, Arkansas Money & Politics featured Dr. Ramirez among its “Top C-Suite Executives.” A champion for diversity and inclusion in the arts, she is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors and the American Alliance of Museums and a frequent speaker at museum conferences and events. She also serves on the board of directors for the Downtown Little Rock Partnership.

Dr. Ramirez holds a doctorate from the University of Houston, a master’s degree from George Washington University, and a bachelor’s from the University of Maryland.

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Laine Harber, Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer

Laine Harber joined the Museum staff in 2010 and currently serves as Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

He manages the organization’s business and behind-the-scenes functionality. His responsibilities include finance and accounting, building operations, risk management, information technology, human resources, and strategic planning. Harber has streamlined back-of-house operations and manages a budget process that enforces cross-departmental responsibility and consistent results in achieving balanced budgets.

Prior to joining AMFA, Harber held leadership and executive roles for thirteen years at two large telecommunications corporations where he managed budgets and served as finance liaison to operations throughout the country.

After graduating from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and a minor in telecommunications and information systems management, Harber began his career as an auditor with a Big Five public accounting firm and successfully completed the Uniform CPA Examination.

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Spencer Jansen, Deputy Director of Operations

Spencer Jansen has been with the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts for more than a decade in varying roles, but always with a focus on hospitality and engagement. In his role as Deputy Director, he oversees Guest Services, Security, the Museum Store, restaurant programming, facility rentals, box office operations, and data management systems. He “strives to create a truly welcoming and remarkable experience for guests” at the Museum.

Jansen grew up in the classrooms and galleries of AMFA (then the Arkansas Arts Center), which fostered his love for the arts and led him to pursue a fine arts degree from Lyon College. After college, he served as the programming and outreach coordinator for the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation. He continued to pursue his creative passions as a studio artist while working as a consultant on Raiser’s Edge for various nonprofits and as a photographer for multiple publications.

In 2024, Spencer was a presenter for two sessions at the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting and Expo, "Money Matters: Creating a Path to Financial Sustainability" and "Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts: The Transformative Power of Design." Jansen was honored on the Arkansas Money and Politics "Achievers in their Forties" list in 2024 and the inaugural list of "Men on a Mission" by Little Rock Soirée in 2022. He was also featured in two books: Museum Membership Innovation by Rosie Siemer highlighting his work in membership and Fly Fishing for the Soul: Tales of a White River Guide by Hank Wilson featuring his photography.

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Jana Wolff, Deputy Director of Advancement and Strategy

Jana Wolff joined AMFA with over 20 years of experience working strategically with individuals and organizations to achieve their philanthropic goals in the nonprofit sector.

In her role as Deputy Director, she leads the Museum’s Development and Membership departments, oversees the strategy and implementation of all fundraising and advancement plans, and develops and sustains relationships with key donors and stakeholders with a focus on successful retention and growth.

Previously, Wolff served as a Senior Development Officer at Arkansas Children’s Foundation. Before moving to Arkansas, she was the executive director for Evergreen Youth and Family Services in Bemidji, Minnesota, and served in several leadership roles in higher education. She is a Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) and holds a master's in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.

In addition to her professional achievements, Jana serves on the education committee for the Association for Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and volunteers at the Salvation Army in Little Rock.

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Brian J. Lang, Chief Curator and Windgate Foundation Curator of Contemporary Craft

Brian J. Lang joined the Museum in 2012 and plays a key role in creating and realizing the institution’s strategic vision with the curatorial team. He is currently leading the development of the new visitor experience in the galleries, in which patrons are invited to make meaningful connections with art in a welcoming environment. Lang and his colleagues are committed to advancing the museum’s national and international stature through original scholarship, compelling exhibitions, and strategic acquisitions.

In the last decade, Lang has assisted the Museum with earning re-accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and designing a transformational, reimagined Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. He has served as the coordinating curator for numerous national traveling exhibitions such as Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House (2013); 30 Americans (2015); Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art (2015); and The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design (2017). Lang has also organized multiple exhibitions on behalf of the Arkansas Arts Center, highlights include Ron Meyers: A Potter’s Menagerie (2013); Interwoven: Craft (2013); Glass Fantasies: Enamels by Thom Hall (2018); Reveal/Conceal: Exploring Identity in Contemporary Art (2018); and Photographing Frida: Portraits of Frida Kahlo (2018).

Previously, Lang served as the curator of decorative arts at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, S.C. (2007-2012); museum curator at Dumbarton House, Washington D.C. (2000-2007); manager of operations at the Vance Kirkland Museum and Foundation in Denver, CO (1999-2000); and museum curator at the Hiwan Homestead Museum in Evergreen, CO (1995 – 1999). Lang earned BA degrees in anthropology and Spanish from Beloit College and a MA in art history from the University of Denver.

He is affiliated with a variety of professional organizations, including: the Association of Art Museum Curators, American Ceramics Circle, American Alliance of Museums, Decorative Arts Society, Decorative Arts Trust, English Ceramic Circle, among others.

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Dr. Catherine Walworth, Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr. Curator of Drawings

Catherine Walworth joined the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in January 2022. She is a specialist in modern art whose research blends social and political history, material culture, fashion, early film, and dance. Walworth is bringing her interests to bear as she organizes Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina, which will open at AMFA in 2025 before its national tour in 2026. A catalogue will accompany the exhibition featuring original scholarship.

Walworth’s other AMFA exhibitions include Path to Abstraction: Picasso, Braque, and Cubism’s Impact on Modern Art (2023-2024), Risa Hricovsky: Then is Now (2023-2024), Tricia Wright: The Naturalist (2024), and for 2025, Kwame Brathwaite: The 1970s. In addition to her curating, Walworth has stewarded new acquisitions for the AMFA Foundation Collection by artists such as Perle Fine and Sudarshan Shetty.

Prior to AMFA, Walworth served as curator at the Columbia Museum of Art where she organized modern and contemporary exhibitions, including Renee Cox: Soul Culture (2017-2018), Jackson Pollock: Mural (2018–2019), and The Ironic Curtain: Art from the Soviet Underground (2021). She began her career at the Seattle Art Museum, and has held curatorial positions supporting traveling exhibition and catalogue projects, including Silver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk at Carnegie Museum of Art (2015); Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique (Cleveland Museum of Art, 2008); and High Drama: Eugene Berman and the Legacy of the Melancholic Sublime (McNay Art Museum, 2004).

She received a doctorate in art history from The Ohio State University, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Washington, and a bachelor’s degree in Art, History, and Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Cornell College. Her book Soviet Salvage: Imperial Debris, Revolutionary Reuse, and Russian Constructivism (Penn State University Press, 2017) was short-listed for a First Book Prize by the Modernist Studies Association in 2018. She recently co-authored (with Dr. Susan Felleman) a chapter examining fashion, art, and objects in the 1939 MGM film Ninotchka in New Approaches to Ernst Lubitsch: A Light Touch (Amsterdam University Press, 2024).

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Dr. Jennifer Jankauskas, Curator

Jankauskas joined AMFA as Curator in 2024 with over 30 years of curatorial expertise. A specialist in contemporary art, her keen eye for art pushes boundaries—whether through unexpected materials, immersive experiences, or pieces that spark conversations about today's world.

Her first exhibition at AMFA, Minimalism: Color, Line, Form, features radically abstract works from the AMFA Foundation Collection that highlight the harmonic beauty of simplicity. Jankauskas is also curating the upcoming exhibition Staging Silence (3): Hans Op de Beeck for the Fine Arts New Media Gallery, and the next installation for the Art Perch.

In her past role as Curator of Art at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), she significantly expanded the contemporary art collection and earned recognition for her innovative exhibitions including BOUNDLESS (2022) and Bethany Collins: My destiny is in your hands (2021), and the traveling exhibitions, About Face: Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture (2019) and Once and Again: Still Lifes by Beth Lipman (2015). Jankauskas was also a leader in developing the MMFA’s new John and Joyce Caddell Sculpture Garden, collaborating with artists Deborah Butterfield, Patrick Dougherty, Jun Kaneko, and Bayeté Ross Smith, among others.

Prior to that, Jankauskas held curatorial positions at prestigious institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Artpace, and the American Federation of the Arts. She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester, a Master of Arts in Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio University.

She has contributed essays to numerous exhibition catalogues, online and print art journals, and to the publications Museum Collecting Lessons: Acquisition Stories Told from the Inside (Routledge, 2022) and Dimensions of Curation: Considering Competing Values for Intentional Exhibition Practices (Rowman and Littlefield, 2023).

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Anita Mitchell, Director of Collections and Exhibitions

Anita Mitchell has over a decade of experience in museum collections management and exhibition development. Since joining AMFA in 2018, she has led the Collections department, managing the relocation of AMFA's 14,000-object collection and coordinating major exhibitions. Her expertise includes preventive conservation, environmental monitoring, and database management.

Anita holds an M.A. in Art Museum and Gallery Studies and a B.A. in Combined Studies from the University of Leicester.

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Chris Revelle, Director of Community Engagement

Chris Revelle joined the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts as the Director of Community Engagement in 2021. Revelle is focused on dynamic programming that connects all audiences to art and its educational potential. Along with the Department of Community Engagement, he develops programs that reimagine traditional approaches, activate the Museum in innovative ways, and provide multisensory experiences and teaching methods with the overarching goal of expanding partnerships within Arkansas and beyond while representing and welcoming our diverse community.

Revelle is also an interdisciplinary artist and educator. Within his studio practice, Revelle is focused on socially engaged work. Through the examination of history, language, and visual culture, Revelle’s work confronts the failures and abuses of social, political, and economic systems. The goal of his practice is to challenge public memory/engagement while inspiring discourse and empathy. His solo exhibition Swing Low was named Best Virtual Exhibit for 2020 by Phoenix New Times, selected for the Idea Capital Grant in 2018, and a finalist for the 2017 Hong Kong Human Rights Art Prize. Revelle has exhibited in the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Europe, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and India, and has created artwork for United Nations organizations.

As a professor of contemporary art practices and theories, Revelle is passionate about his students’ success – emphasizing research, dialogue, and persistence – while balancing technical and conceptual development. He formerly served as the Chair of Fine Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design Hong Kong and was a Faculty Lecturer of Painting and Drawing at Arizona State University. Revelle earned his MFA from the School of Art at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) in Valencia, CA.

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Erik Swindle, Director of Facilities

Erik Swindle joined the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in 2018 as the Director of Facilities & Security. Having worked in facilities operations and construction for over twenty years, he has dedicated his career to sustainable operations and environmentally responsible construction projects both nationally and internationally. Utilizing innovative technology to maximize energy efficiencies and ensuring the museum is at the forefront of building operations guarantees the longevity of the building for our guests, employees, and cultural partners.

Swindle is a board member of Keep Little Rock Beautiful, promoting native landscape, stormwater management, sustainable design, and management of city parks and city streets. His prior experience includes the development of Heifer International’s LEED Platinum campus and numerous energy conservation construction jobs — spanning from education to nonprofit infrastructure — with a focus on cost reduction measures and operation efficiencies. He previously served as President of the Arkansas Associate of Energy Engineers to promote energy conservation measures and sustainability in the engineering field and has been a lecturer for the University of Memphis Architectural School Master’s Program of Sustainability, which focuses on sustainable design of systems and utilizing natural elements to reduce energy consumption in buildings.

Swindle’s projects have been featured in several architectural and engineering textbooks covering water security and management in urban redevelopment. He holds several certifications in engineering and building systems management. Swindle has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Harding University. After graduation, he changed his focus to Environmental Engineering with an emphasis on water conservation and reclamation, building systems, and operations efficiencies.

For media inquiries, please contact media@arkmfa.org.

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Malina Tabor, Director of Marketing and External Affairs

Malina Tabor joined the communications department at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in 2021 and was promoted to the Director of Marketing and Communications in 2022. She leads all communications, campaigns, and brand management for the Museum and works to create engagement with the diverse voices in our community.

Tabor’s marketing skills have catalyzed growth in many industries, including construction and advanced technologies. She spent eight years in banking and finance with the bulk of that experience as the VP/Marketing Director for Delta Trust & Bank. She has ushered several companies through mergers and is well-versed in large-scale communication planning.

In 2018, she decided to pursue a career outside of the corporate world and began freelancing as a marketing and creative director. She became the creative stylist for Soiree magazine, as well as a monthly contributor and feature writer. During this time, Tabor also served as the marketing and communications director for the Elaine Massacre Memorial in Helena, Arkansas.

She is a Leadership of Greater Little Rock graduate and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from Arkansas State University.

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Erin Larkin, Director of Children’s Theatre and Performing Arts

Erin Larkin has been at the Museum since 2004 and has worked on over 80 shows with AMFA’s Children's Theatre company. Theatre for young audiences has been Larkin's principal artistic genre for nearly 20 years. As a costume designer, she has also worked on independent films, operas, and adult theatre.

In her role as Director of Children's Theatre and Performing Arts, she seeks to create enriching cross-disciplinary connections between exhibitions, performing arts, and educational programming to enhance the museum experience.

Larkin’s commitment to creating partnerships, new theatrical works, and presenting the best of performing arts offerings is at the core of reimagining the theatre's traditional programming.

Her passion is continuing the 40-year tradition of artistic excellence and educational outreach in children’s theatre at the Museum. She works to leverage the power of the imagination and lead the performing arts department into a new era of innovation.

Harriet and Warren Stephens

Harriet and Warren Stephens have been deeply involved with the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts for more than 40 years. As co-chairs of the current capital campaign (Reimagining the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts), they have spearheaded the historic transformation of AMFA’s main building and grounds in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park. Under their leadership, the capital campaign has far exceeded its initial goal, raising a total of more than $150 million to date in support of the museum. Harriet and Warren both formerly served on AMFA’s Board of Trustees as president and chair, and are members of the AMFA Foundation Board of Directors, which Warren currently serves as president. Harriet chairs the AMFA Building Committee, which for six years has been integrally involved with every aspect of the building design, construction, and relaunch.

Warren is chairman, president, and CEO of Stephens Inc., a privately owned diversified financial services firm headquartered in Little Rock. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and the Wake Forest School of Business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. While serving on the Washington and Lee Board of Trustees, he led the school’s capital campaign, which raised more than $542 million, the second largest fundraising effort ever by a liberal arts school. In addition, Warren led the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s capital campaign to renovate the organization’s theater, and served on the board of the Central Arkansas Boys and Girls Club. He has been active in many economic development initiatives in Little Rock, including the renovation of the historic Capital Hotel, and served on several industry and corporate boards, currently including Dillard’s.

Harriet is a graduate of Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In addition to her work at AMFA, she has served on numerous boards, including the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Institute on Aging, Easter Seals, and the Cathedral School. A long-time supporter of the arts, Harriet is also active in preservation, having served on the national board of Stratford Hall, one of the most historically and architecturally significant homes in early America.

In addition to their support for AMFA and the broader arts community, the Stephenses’ philanthropy includes a wide range of education initiatives. Significantly, their support and leadership helped to establish the Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock. Harriet is past president and current co-vice-president of the school’s Board of Trustees, and serves on the school’s foundation, of which Warren is president.

Harriet and Warren are avid arts patrons and collectors, and their connection to AMFA is personal and deeply rooted: Warren’s father, Jackson T. Stephens, one of the museum’s major supporters, loaned many works from his personal collection to the museum, where they have been accessible to the public for almost 20 years. In recognition of their longstanding dedication to AMFA and the communities it serves, Warren and Harriet were awarded the organization’s Winthrop Rockefeller Memorial Award in 2005. Named for the former governor of Arkansas, an instrumental figure in AMFA’s establishment, the award is the highest honor for service bestowed by the museum.