PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES event
“A Conversation with Elana Rugh + MaryAnn Wilkinson"”
Moderated by Annmarie Borucki, Director of Arts and Culture, Midtown Detroit, Inc.
This was a pre-recorded meeting with Elana Rugh, President + CEO of the Detroit Historical Society and MaryAnn Wilkinson, Executive Director of The Scarab Club, where they discussed the how the pandemic has impacted their institutions and the role technology may play in the future of their organizations and the Cultural Center district.
MEET THE SPEAKERS:
MaryAnn Wilkinson
Executive Director, The Scarab Club
@ScarabClub
MaryAnn Wilkinson became the Executive Director of the Scarab Club on October 15, 2018. Her most recent position was as the Exhibition Director at Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, a position held since January 2012. For the architecture college, she developed an ongoing exhibition program for both the North Campus college gallery and a college-supported alternative space in downtown Ann Arbor, presenting faculty work, student projects, and exhibitions from sister institutions. Prior to her work at the University, she built a curatorial career over more than 25 years at the Detroit Institute of Arts, where she was head of the Modern and Contemporary Art department and Curator of European Modern Art. At the DIA, she specialized in European modern painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, with particular emphasis on German expressionist painting and Wiener Werkstaette design, while also documenting and exhibiting the work of local, national, and international contemporary artists. She holds a master’s degree in the History of Art from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in French Language and Literature.
Elana A. Rugh
President & CEO, Detroit Historical Society
@DHSDetroit
Elana Rugh is the President and CEO of the Detroit Historical Society, a role she took on in July of 2018. Rugh is a lifelong Detroit area resident who has spent her entire 30 year career in the non-profit sector in Metro Detroit.
Rugh began her career in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s fundraising department in 1990 after graduating from Michigan State University with degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Public Relations. During her first 11 year stint with the MS Society, Elana held several different roles in fundraising, marketing and public relations, eventually serving as Vice President of Marketing & Development. She left the MS Society in 2001 to become Director of Events Management for Henry Ford Health System.
In her nearly seven years at HFHS, Elanaworked in executive leadership roles in both the marketing and philanthropy departments, overseeing systemwide special events, donor services and corporate and foundation philanthropy.
In 2007 Elana returned to the National MS Society to become its President and CEO, a role she held through 2017. Following a brief stint as Chief Advancement Officer at Detroit Country Day School, Rugh has found her home and “dream job” at the Detroit Historical Society where she pairs her hobby as a “history geek” with her passion for building a high achieving, positive team culture.
Rugh is a member of the Board of Trustees of Midtown Detroit, Inc. and The Feelgood Tap, both in Detroit.
She and her husband Chris, a high school administrator in Canton, MI reside in Brighton with their happily blended family of six children.