31-03-2025
Ellen Noël Art Museum appoints Nicole Herden as Executive Director
Mar. 31—The Ellen Noël Art Museum (ENAM) has named Nicole Herden as its next Executive Director, beginning April 14. Herden is an accomplished museum executive with over 20 years of experience in leadership, curatorial practice, and institutional transformation.
"Nicole has a blend of skills in museum management, art scholarship, fundraising, and community building that are an excellent fit with our Museum," Karmen Bryant, ENAM Board President, said in a news release. "We are excited to welcome her to Odessa. Her leadership will help us move into our new facility and chart a course for the coming years."
ENAM is currently constructing a new 36,000 square foot facility set to open in late 2025, which has been funded through a $20 million capital campaign. Bryant cited Herden's experience with large-scale museum construction projects and fundraising as important reasons for her hire. "She checked all the boxes for us," Bryant said.
Herden most recently served as Executive Director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, where she ran a multidisciplinary organization with an accredited art museum, theater, and art school. Her previous experience includes the Executive Director role at the Museum of Nebraska Art as well as curatorial and collections roles at Boise Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, and Arizona State University Art Museum.
"I am thrilled to join Ellen Noël Art Museum at this pivotal moment in its history," Herden said in the release. "The new museum facility will be a beautiful and important addition to the cultural life of the Permian Basin, and I am delighted to bring my leadership to the effort."
In addition to opening the new museum and launching new exhibitions in the galleries, Herden is charged with leading a strategic planning effort that focuses on new opportunities generated by the new facility, galvanizing community support, and leveraging the Museum's status as a Smithsonian Affiliate and accredited institution of the American Alliance of Museums to serve visitors and the community.
Herden's hire culminated from a nationwide search that began last year conducted by Dan Yaeger, Senior Search Consultant for Museum Search & Reference, an executive placement firm specializing in the North American Museum field. ENAM's Search Committee included Ludie Warner, who served as committee chair, Board President Karmen Bryant, Paula Barnett, Marita Hendrick, Austin Keith, Bryan Murray, and Lissa Noël Wagner.
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