Alexa Cummins (she/her)
MSAA Board Chair
Alexa Cummins is the Coordinator of Public Programs at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. She has prior work experience at institutions including the New Museum, Creative Time, and the Grand Rapids Art Museum. She has served in leadership as the chair of MSAA’s board since 2020. Alexa has her B.A. in Art Education from Michigan State University and earned her master's degree in Museum Studies from New York University in 2019.
Mac Cumpian (she/her)
MSAA Board Member
Mac Cumpian is a freelance arts professional with a passion for community and education. Currently, she is a Contract Educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Met Cloisters and is an Adjunct Professor at Lamar University’s Department of Art and Design. Additionally, she engages in social media management. Mac’s previous experience includes roles at the Dishman Art Museum, the Morgan Library and Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and various dance organizations. Mac received her BS in Studio Art with a concentration in Education from Lamar University and her MA in Museum Studies from New York University in 2023.
Eli Fisher (They/them)
MSAA Board Member
Eli Fisher is a Museum Educator, Youth Leadership and Alumni Programs at the Intrepid Museum. Previous work experience includes being a School Programs Educator at New-York Historical Society, Discovery Garden Instructor at Brooklyn Botanic Garden and an intern in School and Teacher Programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Research interests include the history of planetariums, history of astronomy, and black hole imagery. They have a Bachelor of Art in Physics and Astronomy from Bryn Mawr College, and they received their Master of Arts in Museum Studies from NYU in 2021.
Houda Lazrak (she/her)
MSAA Board Member
Houda Lazrak is the Development Manager and Head of Communications at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York's largest visual arts residency program. Previous to ISCP, she graduated with an MA in Museum Studies from New York University, and was awarded a fellowship at the Humanities Research Program at New York University Abu Dhabi. She also has a BA from McGill University, Canada, with a double major in Anthropology and Human Geography. Lazrak has worked with several non-profit organizations focused on offering free online resources on urban art and public art. She currently serves on the steering committee of Professional Organization for Women in the Arts.
Jacqueline Masseo (she/her)
MSAA Board Member
Jacqueline Masseo is the Development Director at Transportation Alternatives. Her prior work experience includes positions at the New-York Historical Society, September 11 Memorial & Museum, Tenement Museum, and Fraunces Tavern Museum as the Director of Education & Public Programs and Museum Director. She recently decided to use her fundraising experience to pivot into development work for a non-profit that focuses on reclaiming New York City streets from cars and giving it back to people. She received her B.A. in History & Anthropology from SUNY New Paltz, and graduated from NYU’s Museum Studies program in 2015.
Megan Villa (she/her)
MSAA Board Member
Megan Villa is the Project Coordinator of the OpenSpace Project at the American Museum of Natural History, where she shares NASA-funded OpenSpace software with museums and other informal science institutions around the world. Her prior museum work experience includes positions at the Fraunces Tavern Museum, the Museum of Sex, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. She received her Bachelor of Art in Anthropology and Bachelor of Journalism in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Megan graduated with her Master of Arts in Museum Studies from NYU in 2022 with her thesis highlighting the range of community engagement in public programs at the New-York Historical Society.
Katherine Wilson (she/her)
MSAA Board Member
Katherine Wilson is a Registrar at Hauser & Wirth in New York. Previous to her current role, she worked as the Designer at Downing Frames, where she worked closely with living artists, Estates, and Institutions to design archival, handcrafted, museum frames. Prior to that she worked with NYU Museum Studies Faculty Ileen S. Gallagher (ISG Productions) as an Exhibition Project Coordinator on The Rolling Stones: EXHIBITIONISM. She received her B.A. in Art History and Music from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA and earned her master’s degree in Museum Studies from NYU in 2015.
Sydney Yaeger (She/her)
MSAA Board Member
Sydney Yaeger is the Public Programs Coordinator at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, where she creates and executes the Museum’s public programs and adult education courses. Her prior work experience includes internships at the Center for Colorado Women’s History and the American Museum of Natural History, along with a variety of theatrical-based positions. Sydney received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Theater Arts from the University of Arizona, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors. She received her Master of Arts in Museum Studies from NYU in 2021 and her Master of Arts in History from NYU in 2022