SAN FRANCISCO (July 18, 2017)—The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) are pleased to announce the appointment of Linda Butler as Director of Marketing, Communications, and Visitor Experience. Joining the senior management team of FAMSF, Butler will oversee the public relations, marketing, graphic design, group sales, and visitor experience departments. Butler comes from the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) where she has been the Director of Marketing and Communications since early 2016. Prior to joining the CJM, she served as the Director of Marketing at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) during the museum’s three-year, $600 million expansion.

“I am thrilled to have Linda join our team to lead the marketing, communications, and visitor experience departments,” says Max Hollein, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Linda has outstanding vision, brings deep experience, and I cannot wait to see the innovative, holistic campaigns she and her team will create, bringing attention to our exciting upcoming programs and exhibitions.”

While at the CJM, Butler successfully established and led the first digital content department in the museum’s history; launched the CJM’s new website; initiated and executed their first annual media event—to regional and national attention; led efforts to improve overall visitor experience through on-site improvements; and directed the launch of institutional blog, 36 Windows. She has been recognized for her commitment to engaging and attracting diverse audiences in new ways, and for her dexterity in developing impactful content and effective institutional strategy.

Prior to her appointment at the CJM, Butler directed all facets of marketing for SFMOMA. Highlights include helping develop and promote a closing event that attracted over 20,000 visitors, directing content creation across social media channels to 2.2 million followers, and the launch of a comprehensive group sales and tourism program post re-opening. Her strategies to engage the community during the closure resulted in the wildly popular SFMOMA “On the Go” co-marketing campaign strategy with nine partnering museums, generating increased attendance at their sites, and the award-winning #PlayArtfully campaign, which received the 2015 Gold MUSE Award for outstanding achievement in Digital Communities.

“I am honored and thrilled to be joining the FAMSF team under the visionary leadership of Max Hollein,” adds Butler. “I’m excited to join a team of innovative thinkers to explore what audience engagement can be in the 21st century. I look forward to building and connecting with audiences not only locally but far beyond the Bay Area through distinct content that makes art relevant for today.”

Before joining SFMOMA, Butler served as the Director of Marketing, Public Relations, and Creative Services at the San Francisco Film Society from 2010-2012 and the Group Marketing Director at Questex Media Group based in Boston, MA from 2008-2010. Butler has attended the Massachusetts College of Art, Oral Roberts University, the Lorenzo de Medici Institute, and the Charles IV University. She is a part-time instructor teaching digital content creation at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Butler will begin her tenure at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco on August 21, 2017.

About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, are the largest public arts institution in San Francisco.

The Legion of Honor was inspired by the French pavilion at San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 and, like that structure, was modeled after the neoclassical Palais de la Légion d’Honneur, in Paris. The museum, designed by George Applegarth, opened in 1924 on a bluff in Lincoln Park overlooking the Golden Gate. Its holdings span 4,000 years and include European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; ancient art from the Mediterranean basin; and the largest collection of works on paper in the American West.

The de Young originated from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park and was established as the Memorial Museum in 1895. It was later renamed in honor of Michael H. de Young, who spearheaded its creation. The present copper-clad landmark building, designed by Herzog and de Meuron, opened in October 2005. It holds the institution’s significant collections of American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the 17th to the 21st centuries; art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; costume and textile arts; and international modern and contemporary art.

Media Contact
Miriam Newcomer, Director of Public Relations \ mnewcomer@famsf.org \ 415.750.3554