Anna E. von Gehr Joins The Ringling and Florida State University Foundation

Anna E. von Gehr has been appointed as the Senior Director of Development for The Ringling in Sarasota, Florida.  Serving under Director, Steven High and Glen Jack, Vice President for Constituent Programs at the Florida State University Foundation, von Gehr will lead The Ringling team’s campaign to enhance the scholarship, practice, and presentation of art and culture.
 
“With her experience in both museum and university fundraising and her deep appreciation for the arts, Anna brings to the position at the Ringling a unique background and extensive experience that will propel our development program forward,” said Steven High. “I’m thrilled that she has joined our staff and I look forward to working with her and her development team to attract even greater programs, exhibitions, and collections to our community.”
 
von Gehr comes to Florida State and The Ringling from the University of Virginia where she served as Director of University Arts Development.  Working in partnership with the Vice Provost for the Arts she managed the Arts Strategic Planning process while assisting all Arts units in garnering transformative philanthropic support. An area of focus for the University was the restructuring of their two academic art museums.
 
von Gehr, working in partnership with museum directors for U.Va.’s The Fralin Museum of Art and The Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum, completely restructured the programming for both organizations resulting in dramatic increases in attendance and annual support. In addition to stabilizing the museums and their role at the University, she completed a $30 million campaign for The Fralin Museum of Art as part of the University’s ambitious $3 billion campaign.
 
In addition to her work at U.Va., von Gehr served as the Major Gifts and Planned Giving officer at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  She was an integral part of the museum’s senior leadership team overseeing the successful completion of their recent $172 million capital campaign.
 
[quote]“I am thrilled to be joining The Ringling team at such an exciting time. My passion for museums and the vital role they play in society drives both my professional and personal life.  The Sarasota community with its deep commitment to the arts was an easy choice for me and my family to call home.”[/quote]
 
Anna has recently made Sarasota her permanent home with her husband, artist Rob Tarbell, and their two-year old daughter Dorothea.