Nancy Macko: The Fragile Bee

Louanne Greenwald - Director

LouAnne Greenwald was appointed Director of the Hilliard University Art Museum in July 2014. Over the course of her tenure, she has expanded the museum’s hours, increased staff and established free Wednesday night programs featuring the research and talents of UL faculty from across campus. Ms. Greenwald envisions the museum as a bridge between the University and the community, connecting the culture of our region to a broader national and international discourse, and promoting lifelong learning through the arts.

Prior to her position as director, she worked as a consultant in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles raising funds for educational institutions. Her museum experience includes roles as a curator and educator for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, MOCA Los Angeles, and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, L.A. She serves on the Advisory Board for the LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge and is the Louisiana representative for the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries.

Ms. Greenwald received her MFA from University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and received her CFRE certification in 2013.

(Photo & Bio Courtesy: Hilliard Museum)

Benjamin Hickey - Curator

Benjamin M. Hickey is Curator of Exhibitions at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Most central to his curatorial practice are projects that blend social history, sense of place, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Artists with whom he has worked include Lionel Cruet, Shayne Dark, Jenny Ellerbe, Hasan Elahi, Robert Hodge, Beili Liu, Kelli Scott Kelley, Vitus Shell, Marni Shindelman & Nate Larson, James Surls, and Alberto Rey.

Hickey was most recently the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, LA. Other institutions at which he held positions include the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; California Museum of Photography, Riverside, CA; Arts Council in Buffalo and Erie County, Buffalo, NY; and OUTSIDE GALLERY, Monroe, LA. He also worked as an Adjunct Professor at Canisius College, Buffalo, NY and Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA. With reference to service, he was a long standing Community Advisory Board member for KEDM, NPR’s Monroe, LA affiliate, and is currently a Trustee at Large for the Association of Art Museum Curators. Hickey earned his Master’s in the History of Art from the University of California, Riverside.

His writing can be found in Improvisations in Time: Eugene J. Martin and the Masur Museum of Art (Masur Museum of Art Press, 2012), Life Streams: Alberto Rey’s Cuban and American Work (State University of New York Press, 2014), Greely Myatt: and (David Lusk Gallery, 2014), Identity (Gallery Jatad Press, 2015), and EVERYTHING Is Abstract (Masur Museum of Art Press, 2016).

(Photo & Bio Courtesy: Hilliard Museum)

Cami Joseph - Assistant to the Director

Cami is a highly organized and detail-oriented office assistant with more than 10 years of experience supplying thorough, organized administrative support. She is a self-directed and innovative thinker with a knack for developing creative solutions to complex problems. Cami has prior experience in management, event planning, and fundraising. At the Hilliard Museum, she assists the Director in a variety of ways. From bookkeeping, tracking of memberships and donations, and supporting the staff’s day to day needs to maintaining the master calendar for the museum’s exhibitions, events, tours, and staff.

(Photo & Bio Courtesy: Hilliard Museum)

Misty Taylor - Collections and Exhibitons Manager

Misty Taylor graduated from Louisiana State University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science with a focus in Psychology. Directly after graduation, she traveled to Ghana, Africa to complete a minor in African and African-American Studies at the University of Ghana. Upon her return to the states, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana where she began an apprenticeship with master silversmith, Ellis Joubert. In 2003, Taylor was the recipient of the Rhode Island Institute Scholarship for jewelry design and craftsmanship. After losing a bronze casting foundry in Chalmette, Louisiana with her fiancé due to Hurricane Katrina, Taylor moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she began working at the LSU Museum of Art as the Loans and Exhibitions Registrar. In January 2015, Taylor completed a graduate certification from George Washington University in Museum Collections Management and Care.

(Photo & Bio Courtesy: Hilliard Museum)

Cheryll Guilbeau - Store Manager

Cheryll started her career in retail at the age of 15, selling sporting goods at her parents’ outdoor business, Pack and Paddle. She received her degree in Merchandising from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Gaining experience selling as well as buying, her work became her passion. She continued to work as a manager and buyer at Pack and Paddle. After marrying and raising a family, Cheryll worked for the United Way of Acadiana as a volunteer Coordinator after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She spent two years coordinating volunteers to assist in rebuilding homes in Vermillion Parish. This led to her next position as the Boarding School Director for the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Cheryll worked with both domestic and international students, ensuring their health and well being while living on the historic campus of the Academy of the Sacred Heart. After nine years of caring for residential students, the desire grew strong to return to her retail roots. Cheryll accepted the position of Store Manager at the Hilliard Art Museum. Her focus has been to create an amazing and unique shopping experience for each museum visitor. Much of her time and effort is spent researching and curating exceptional products from local artists and specialty vendors.

(Photo & Bio Courtesy: Hilliard Museum)

Bethany LeJeune - Preparator

Bethany LeJeune received her master’s from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2022 and was an undergraduate from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s College of the Arts with a concentration in painting in 2019. Aside from being the Preparator at the Hilliard Art Museum, Bethany is the curator at Basin Art’s gallery and is a resident artist in their studio space. Her artistic practice explores her personal experiences in relation to femininity as well as Southern Louisiana culture and consists of a wide range of mediums including writing, textiles, sculptural works, video, and installation.

(Photo & Bio Courtesy: Hilliard Museum)