North Texas Museums are seeing an unprecedented changing of the guard.
Two museums have recently announced the departure of their directors, and four others have appointed new leaders.
These changes are happening against a national backdrop where political tensions are high, federal grant funding is low and attendance hasn’t fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, here in North Texas, this moment also has immense opportunities. The region is experiencing a population boom, and a global audience will head to Dallas next summer for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Get to know the new leaders who are stepping up to the plate:
Brian Ferriso
Director, Dallas Museum of Art
Most recent position: Director, Portland Art Museum
Preceded by: Agustín Arteaga, who held the role for 8 years
The Portland Art Museum expanded its staff, square footage and endowment under Ferriso’s leadership.
The physical transformation of the museum, which includes nearly 100,000 new or renovated square feet, will open to the public in November.
Financially, the museum also grew its endowment by $40 million, eliminated $7 million in debt and more than doubled its curatorial staff, with approximately half of those positions supported by permanent endowments, according to a press release announcing his move to Dallas.
These experiences likely appealed to the DMA’s board, which plans a major expansion to add gallery space and better integrate the museum into the Arts District. Spanish architecture firm Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos are the lead designers on the project, but a timeline has not yet been released.
The museum has also faced challenges: In 2023, it decided to close on Tuesdays, cut 20 employees and reduce two full-time positions to part-time. Lower attendance was cited as a factor.
Fun fact: Ferriso played rugby up until he was 30. He was also a high school wrestling coach.
In his own words: “These organizations are about our shared humanity, they're about our understanding of others, they're empathy, they're connecting us globally, they're helping us think critically about what it means to live in this world and to relate to others, They're about community.”
Halona Norton-Westbrook
Director, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Most recent position: Director and CEO, Honolulu Museum of Art
Preceded by: Marla Price, who held the role for more than 30 years
Norton-Westbrook takes the helm at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth following five years leading the Honolulu Museum of Art.
Norton-Westbrook started the Honolulu position in January 2020, shortly before museums across the country closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But by May 2025, the museum reported visitor numbers that were up by 80% over the museum’s pre-pandemic attendance.
She also created the Honolulu museum’s first comprehensive strategic plan and led a $4 million restoration and expansion of the museum’s art school, according to a press release announcing her appointment to the Modern.
She joined the Modern after it earned national headlines earlier this year when Fort Worth police seized photographs by acclaimed photographer Sally Mann.
The highly unusual move came in response to allegations that images contained child pornography. A grand jury declined to pursue charges regarding the images that are over 30 years old and have been shown in galleries and museums around the world.
A formative museum experience: A retrospective of the multimedia artist Bill Viola at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which included 15 large-scale video installation works.
Fun fact: She has lived in London, California, Ohio and Hawaii before coming to Texas.
In her own words: “The role of museums is the same as it's always been, which is that they're places to inspire, they're places to have dialogue and connection and to foster contemplation.”
Carlos Basualdo
Director, Nasher Sculpture Center
Most recent position: Chief curator and deputy director, Philadelphia Museum of Art. The museum is now known as the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Preceded by: Jeremy Strick, who led the museum for 15 years
Carlos Basualdo joins the Nasher Sculpture Center from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
He joined the museum there as a senior curator in 20025, and in 2022 he was appointed chief and deputy director, leading a team of approximately 140 staff.
Basualdo is from Argentina, and he has curated exhibitions around the world, including in Italy, Germany, Brazil and Colombia.
He won a Golden Lion award at the 2009 Venice Biennale, considered one of the world’s most prestigious art expos, for his work co-curating the U.S. pavilion.
Basualdo said the location and design of the Nasher’s 55,000-square-foot building sets the museum up for greater connection with the city and its neighbors.
“I think the goal would ultimately, you know, collaborate with the Dallas district, so that part of Dallas becomes even more alive for pedestrian traffic and for all sorts of opportunities,” he said.
Fun Fact: He is a poet and former rancher.
In his own words: “It seems our work, I think, mostly is to bring people together and to give people something that hopefully has a transformative potential in their lives.”
Lisa Brown Ross
President and CEO, African
American Museum of Dallas
Most recent position: Director of marketing and development at Anthem Strong Families
Preceded by: Founding director Harry Robinson Jr., who led the museum for over 50 years
Lisa Brown Ross is only the second director of the African American Museum. She said it is impossible to fill the shoes of Robinson, her predecessor, but she will work to carry on his legacy in stilettos.
She has never run a museum, but Brown Ross has had a long career in public affairs and strategic communications, including her most recent role as the director of marketing and development at the Dallas nonprofit Anthem Strong Families. During her time there, she secured $15 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a press release announcing her new role.
Her resume also includes leadership roles with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Urban Health Initiative, and founding the Seattle Police Department’s public affairs office.
“When I was recruited for this position, I did push back a little bit. I didn't know if I was ready to walk behind Dr. Harry Robinson,” Brown Ross said. “But after careful thought and speaking with some of my mentors and a lot of prayer, I decided to put my hat in the ring. I think that building a stronger ecosystem not only with the museum but with other arts organizations and institutions in Dallas, I think this is the time that we can do that.”
The museum recently secured a $3 million grant from the Texas Historical Commission and $100,000 from Google to digitize and preserve its collection. She will work closely with Margie J. Reese, who is the chief program officer for the museum.
Fun fact: Brown Ross wanted to be a ballet dancer and is a fan of the documentary A Ballerina’s Tale about Misty Copeland, the first Black woman to become a principal dancer at American Ballet Theater.
In her own words: “My belief is that museums and libraries are the educational fulcrum for our society, and art and history are a reflection of our life,” Brown Ross said. “It's crucial, absolutely crucial, to tell those stories of our lives: the joy, the pain, the despair and also stories of hope and what it means to overcome.”
