Director

This is your museum! Welcome.

There are many reasons to come to PEM. Sometimes, looking at a work of art with someone special by your side is all the motivation you need. Sitting in the light-filled Atrium, having lunch outside in the Garden Restaurant, watching the expression on a child's face as she makes a collage — each experience is worth the trip. PEM is the place to come for enjoyment, enrichment, sharing with family and friends, and creative stimulation.

We gain exciting insights about ourselves and other cultures through special exhibitions, Atrium Alive weekend festivals and family art-making programs. You are vital to the equation. Your experiences shape the art you look at and the performances you watch, making them more meaningful and transformative.

PEM continues to touch lives and to make a difference.

Dan L. Monroe
The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Director and CEO

Dan L. Monroe, the Director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum since mid-1993, led PEM’s remarkable transformation into one of New England’s largest art organizations and into an art museum of national and international standing.

A longtime leader in the museum community, Monroe serves on the board of the prestigious Association of Art Museum Directors and is chairman of the Art Issues and Cultural Property committees. He led the highly successful national initiative to change art museum policies regarding acquisition of archaeological material and ancient art. Monroe was recently reappointed to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Review Committee. He played a central role in the creation of the landmark legislation regarding the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural material.

Monroe was president of the Western Museums Conference and chairman of the American Association of Museums, the largest professional museum organization. Before coming to PEM, he was president of the Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, and administered the Alaska State museum system.

Monroe served as grant reviewer and panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Library and Museum Services. He also served as a senior museum adviser to the Getty Institute's internationally acclaimed Museum Management Institute and oversaw advocacy for museums nationwide for more than six years.

Monroe lectures and serves on panels and programs nationally and internationally. His expertise and interests lie in the areas of Native American art, photography and Asian art. He is a former educator, photographer and award-winning filmmaker.