Mountain-Plains Museums Association Names Deborah Arenz as Executive Director

DENVER, CO–Following a national search, Mountain-Plains Museums Association (MPMA), the 10-state regional museum association in the west, today named Deborah B. Arenz as its new executive director.

 

“We’re pleased to have Deb join MPMA.  Her extensive experience, talent and commitment to the museum field will make her a great fit for our organization,” said MPMA President Mark Janzen.  

During her 20-year museum career, Deb has served as the associate director for collections and senior museum curator at the Nebraska State Historical Society, curator at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, and director/curator at the Elkhorn Valley Museum, all in Nebraska. Deb was on the committee that updated The Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging into Nomenclature 3.0 for Museum Cataloging and has served as president of the Nebraska Museums Association, purchasing co-op chair for the Mountain-Plains Museums Association, and as a board and nominating committee member for the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM). She is currently the vice president (president-elect) of ALHFAM.  Deb has a B.A. in Art History from Oklahoma State University and an M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with her husband and two kids.

“I look forward to becoming MPMA’s second executive director.  It is an honor to be chosen to lead this vibrant regional museum association and I am delighted to be the one to ensure that it continues to be a leader in the mountain and plains museums community.

Arenz will start in her new role on April 3. 

 

She succeeds Monta Lee Dakin who was MPMA’s first executive director.  Monta Lee will stay on in a supportive capacity as director emeritus through October.

 

About Mountain-Plains Museums Association

The Mountain-Plains Museums Association (MPMA) is the regional museum association providing professional services to museums in these ten (10) states:  Colorado, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.  Since 1953, it has created a community for museums in the west where the professionals who work in them can have access to networking opportunities, professional development, advocacy assistance and the sharing of knowledge about best practices and standards. MPMA is one of six regional associations in the country and works closely with the national museum organization, American Alliance of Museums (AAM), on issues relating to museums around the country.