Rachel Katz has been at The Breman longer than anyone else on staff. She grew up in Baltimore where she attended Krieger Schechter Day School. A graduate of Columbia University, she obtained a master’s degree in Jewish Art History from Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Katz, 29, lives in Atlanta with her husband and their three Maine Coon cats.
ATB: HOW AND WHEN DID YOU BEGIN WORKING AT THE BREMAN? I started almost seven years ago as a part time archivist; Sandy Berman and Jane Leavey went out of their way to help me get started and I will forever be grateful for that. I was a young museum hopeful without much professional experience and I wouldn’t be where I am today if they hadn’t taken that chance on me.
EMPLOYEE PROFILE:
RACHEL KATZ DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP AND VISITOR SERVICES
ATB: WHAT DO YOU DO AT THE MUSEUM? A little bit of everything. From the archives I was promoted to handle membership and contributions. As more things became available, I said ‘I can do that.’ The director position itself is widespread; I also manage the museum store and the staff that works there. That’s the admission and entry point into the museum, so it’s fairly important. I buy for the store, and I’m responsible for displays, which is where my love of design and art really helps. ATB: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEMBERSHIP AND MAKING A GIFT TO THE ANNUAL APPEAL? There’s a big difference! While both are solicited annually, membership is a contribution that gives you benefits such as free, year-round admission to the museum. The Annual Appeal is an opportunity to give to a specific area of the museum, like Holocaust Education or the Archives, but you receive no benefits, apart from knowing you’re making a difference. ATB: YOU ARE ALSO A GRAPHIC DESIGNER, RIGHT? Graphic design is something I do on the side. I’ve reworked our logo and helped design the letterhead - stuff like that. That’s been more of a hobby; I freelance when I can. With the freelance work and the museum job, that’s pretty much 100 percent of my time. ATB: WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE KNOW ABOUT YOU? A fun fact is that my mom, Susan, has somehow become the “museum mom.” She is the first person to like every post we make on Facebook, she is our biggest fan, and sends care packages for the museum staff regularly. She comes up as a topic of conversation in staff meetings, as in, “when will she visit next?” and “can she send us more socks?” ATB: WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN AT THE MUSEUM? I’d like our membership to grow a thousand fold. Trends for museum membership globally are on a downward spiral, but there are tons of people who come to The Breman and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be more involved in our museum.
AT THE BREMAN
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