Leadership

Tamara Wootton Forsyth has been a vital member and leader of the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) team for over two decades, contributing to its growth and success since 2000. Appointed The Marcus-Rose Family Deputy Director in 2018, she assumed the role of Interim Director in 2025. Over the course of her career, Wootton Forsyth has held a variety of key positions, contributing to collections, exhibitions, publications, and facilities management. Her leadership has been instrumental in the advancement of the Museum's strategic initiatives, including the development and implementation of the DMA’s current strategic plan and overseeing the Reimagining the DMA architect selection process, which culminated in the selection of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos to redesign the Museum’s campus. 

A driving force behind many of the DMA's most notable accomplishments, she has led the digitization of the Museum’s collection, reinstalled the Arts of Africa galleries, and overseen the construction and subsequent renovation of Eagle Family Plaza and the creation of the Paintings Conservation Studio. She also played a key role in bringing to life exhibitions on Jackson Pollock, Jean Paul Gaultier, Henri Matisse, and Mexican art in the first half of the 20th century. 

Wootton Forsyth holds a Master of Arts in Art History from the George Washington University (1997) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History from the University of North Texas (1994). 

On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) announced the appointment of Brian Ferriso as the Museum’s next Eugene McDermott Director. He will officially assume his new role at the DMA on December 1, 2025. For nearly 20 years, Ferriso has served as Director of the Portland Art Museum (PAM), where he is currently leading the museum through a comprehensive campus transformation that opens to the public this November. Ferriso comes to the DMA—the anchor of Dallas’s vibrant Arts District—with nearly three decades of leadership experience, demonstrated success leading major capital projects, and a deep commitment to community engagement and accessibility.

Ferriso is described by DMA Board of Trustees President Gowri S. Sharma as a leader who has shaped an ambitious vision for the Portland Art Museum and developed programs that advance its cultural, civic, and social role in the city and region. “With this powerful combination of skills and expertise, we are confident that Brian is the right director to shepherd the DMA into its next era as a thriving institution with a growing collection that is more inclusive, more accessible, and more reflective of the community we serve,” said Sharma.

Since his appointment as Director of the Portland Art Museum in 2006, Ferriso has more than doubled the museum’s curatorial staff and permanently endowed almost half of those positions, increased the endowment by $40 million and eliminated $7 million in unfunded debt. Committed to expanding opportunities for learning and access, Ferriso also created the Art Access Endowment at PAM, which supports free admission in perpetuity for children 17 and under, free school tours, and family free days. Under his leadership, PAM served as the co-presenting institution for the space in which to place me (2024), Jeffrey Gibson’s exhibition for the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale—the first solo presentation by an Indigenous artist for the U.S. Pavilion.

At the helm of PAM’s soon-to-be-completed expansion and renovation project—opening to the public on November 20, 2025—Ferriso has led the fundraising of more than $140 million for the construction and endowment of the revitalized museum campus. The project bolsters the Museum’s role as a “cultural commons” for the city of Portland and follows the 2023 opening of the PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow, an off-campus space that presents film and new media in Southeast Portland and expands the museum’s presence and reach across the city. We invite you to learn even more about Ferriso’s tenure at PAM, the Philbrook Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, along with his distinguished background here.

Fern Johnson 
Gene Jones 
Aasem Khalil 
Max Lamont 
Nicolette Lamont 
Ken Lee 
Todd Lemkin 
Barbara Thomas Lemmon (Benefactor) 
Carol Levy 
Cristina Lynch 
Venu Menon  
Vipin Nambiar 
Jessica Nowitzki 
Jim Nugent (Office of Arts and Culture) 
Daniel O’Grady (Treasurer) 
Lucilo Peña 
Adriana Perales  
Andrea Perez (Legal) 
Arthur Primas 
Kelli Questrom (Benefactor) 
Cindy Rachofsky (The Rachofsky Fund) 
Howard Rachofsky (The Rachofsky Fund) 
Katherine Perot Reeves 
Nancy C. Rogers 
Deedie Rose 
Lizzie Routman (Foundation for the Arts) 
John Runyon 
Peggy Sewell 
Gowri N. Sharma (President) 
Amanda Shufeldt
Marcia Dunn Sobel 
Gayle Stoffel 
Kalu K. Ugwuomo, Jr. 
Brena Ward (Junior League Dallas) 
Clinton Warren 
Laura Wise (DMA Junior Associates) 
Sharon Young (Chairman)