Jill Snyder

Jill Snyder is an institution builder with a proven record of leading innovation, growth, and change. As executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland for over two decades, she leveraged moCa’s beginnings as a small but influential arts center to become a vital civic hub and emblem of Cleveland’s cultural renaissance. Along the way, Snyder shaped conversations about the public value of museums and contemporary art.
In 2012, Snyder completed a Farshid Moussavi designed, internationally acclaimed, silver LEED, debt-free building in University Circle. She led a successful $35M building campaign and established the museum’s first endowment. The new moCa tripled annual visitation, forged community alliances, commissioned work by emerging artists, and deepened education through public programming.
In 2020, Snyder established Snyder Consultancy with a focus on cultural strategy. https://www.snyderconsultancy.com/. Her museum clients have included: the Richard Driehaus Museum, DePaul Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts St Pete, Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Sarasota Art Museum, and the Nerman Museum.
In 2021, Snyder produced a think tank to explore how museum design can be more empathic and equitable. https://www.dontcallitamuseum.org/. She currently consults with the global architecture firm DLR Group on museum projects. She has served as a museum consultant for various firms, including Studio Gang, Perkins&Will, and Farshid Moussavi Architecture. With DLR Group, she is co-leading a research project on the social impact of liminal spaces in museums. As an alum of the Moving Boundaries programs in Guadalajara, Stockholm/Helsinki, and Portugal, Snyder applies the emerging field of neuroarchitecture to deepen insights on the visitor experience in museums.
A museum professional for over 30 years, Snyder has held administrative and educational positions at the Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Modern Art in NYC, and served as Director of The Aldrich Museum and Freedman Gallery at Albright College.
Snyder produced the Directors Summit for EXPO Chicago, a public forum that gives voice to emerging museum directors leading during times of growth and change. She is co-founder of the Contemporary Art Museum Directors (CAMD), a critical platform for developing leaders in contemporary art institutions. Snyder has participated in numerous leadership programs, including National Art Strategies’ Chief Executive Program, The Getty Leadership Institute, Stanford University School of Business, and Leadership Cleveland. In 2013 she received the Ohio Governor’s Award for Arts Administration and the Cleveland Arts Prize Martha Joseph Award.
Snyder earned her BA from Wesleyan University and conducted graduate studies in art history at New York University’s Institute of Fine Art. She resides in Chicago, is an active member of The Arts Club of Chicago, and serves on the Board of the Chicago School of the Arts Foundation.