Janice Yablonski Hickey

Janice Yablonski Hickey is an executive leader in the arts with extensive experience developing income strategies for museums and cultural institutions. With more than 30 years’ experience working with arts organizations and 20 years in the digital arena, she is an expert in cultural commerce who specializes in creating future-focused business models and innovative revenue generation programs.

Janice has particular strengths in museum retail, ecommerce, product development, and marketing programs. As a consultant, Janice has produced a wide range of research, evaluation, and creative development projects for cultural institutions, government agencies, and other nonprofits, including the National Gallery of Art, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Monticello, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon, among others. Janice has extensive experience creating business plans and feasibility studies, conducting market assessments and competitive analyses, and developing revenue improvement plans that look synergistically across institutions’ varied departments and mix mission goals with sustainability.

Janice began her career at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she held roles in publishing, product development, and marketing. She was named the Met’s first head of ecommerce, and led the design, strategy, content, and technology of the online store, which grew to become a model in the field. Janice enjoyed a 23-year career at the Met, after which she established her firm, Arts & Culture Digital. At AC&D she redesigned and re-platformed ecommerce sites for a number of major museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Texas State Capitol, as well as directed cloud POS and other systems replacement projects. She launched Museum Revenue Partners in 2019 to meet the needs of arts organizations challenged by contracting budgets and declining grants and philanthropic giving, and has helped many institutions in their efforts to increase earned revenue.

Janice has an extensive background in content creation, design, data, and analytics, and in her marketing roles has developed email, paid search, social media, and direct mail campaigns. Her work has won awards including the American Alliance of Museums’ Best Institutional Website, Advertising Age’s Best Ecommerce Site, and the Museum Store Association’s Best Web Presence. She holds a B.A. from Barnard College, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a Certificate in Arts Administration from NYU, with academic credentials in American history and art, material culture, and museum studies. Janice is a conference speaker and author, and has served on the Board of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, where she was a Trustee, and Vice President of Strategic Planning. She also volunteers as a member of POLARIS, the museum mentor network.

David Krol is an expert in museum store management and cultural business development, with decades of experience at institutions large and small, both foreign and domestic. Most recently he was Chief of Retail Operations at the National Gallery of Art, where he rejuvenated the Gallery’s highly-acclaimed East and West Building shops and oversaw the museum’s five restaurants. David has broad experience in retail planning and assortments, inventory management, custom products, merchandise display, staffing, operations, partnerships, and food service. His leadership at the Gallery included revamped product and service offerings, new shop designs and restaurant renovations, a more robust online presence, and upgraded core systems.

David is a specialist in retail-curatorial collaboration and has an extensive background in exhibition revenue programs. He has created unique exhibition shops, related product development, museum marketing and thematic café menus that have captured public and press attention and engaged audiences worldwide. David has held key leadership roles in a diverse group of organizations, including Executive Director of Boscobel House and Gardens in the historic Hudson Valley and Deputy Director of the Lobkowicz Collections in Prague, the Czech Republic. At the Lobkowicz Palace and Nelahozeves Castle properties, David was in charge of public facing programs including the museum shop, classical music concerts, membership, and publications.

David’s background includes experience with both self-operated and outsourced retail and restaurant operations. He was Director of Retail Operations at the American Museum of Natural History, where he oversaw the themed shops and iconic three-level store known for its diversity of children’s products and souvenirs as well as its scientific reproductions, publications and gifts from world cultures. Earlier in his career David held senior roles at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Merchandising Division with specialties in retail systems, inventory management, and buying across an international business including retail, wholesale, and direct to consumer channels. David was educated at Boston College and Oxford University, and holds a B.A. in English, Latin, and Ancient Greek. He is a devoted bibliophile of the works of Vladimir Nabokov and houses a large archive of his works. He has been a conference speaker, museum collections guide, and advisor to various cultural organizations.

Kathy Mucciolo is an industry leading museum store design and development specialist, with broad experience in the areas of visual merchandising, retail planning, and creative interdisciplinary design. Her background includes work with both museum flagship stores and satellite locations, with particular expertise in special exhibition shops. Kathy has created hundreds of store designs over the course of her career, including new build outs, full remodels, store resets, and pop-up shops. Her work ranges from sophisticated stores that sell high-end museum reproductions and limited edition jewelry to souvenir gift shops catering to international tourists, to children’s shops, holiday shops, and other themed stores. Kathy’s customer-focused designs and memorable, well-branded environments serve to both support a museum’s image and increase its revenue.

Kathy enjoyed a 30-year career at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she led a team that oversaw five permanent shops and three changing exhibition shops within the building, as well as 20 branch location stores in major shopping destinations such as Rockefeller Center, airports, and malls across the United States. Kathy’s experience encompasses store concepts and branding, interior design, fixture design, fabrication, and installation, signage, window design, visual merchandising standards, and maintenance. Kathy was the lead designer for the high-profile Costume Institute exhibition shops at the Met, including for the blockbuster Alexander McQueen show, working closely with the curatorial team and Anna Wintour. She also created an innovative blended art gallery/coffee shop installation at the Met Breuer location that combined key visitor amenities. Kathy has built open and closed displays, point of purchase units, changing seasonal and themed layouts, and custom fixtures for sensory oriented presentations including music, video, print on demand and product sampling. Her background also includes expertise in planogram development, inventory replenishment and back of house functions, customer flow and behavior, traffic analytics, register and technical operations, and personnel management.

Kathy has served as an adjunct professor in the Visual Merchandising Department at the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM College). She was educated at The Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford, where she earned a B.F.A. in Printmaking and Art History. She received her management and leadership training at the Met, and was the recipient of the 2009 VMSD Magazine award for excellence in Visual Merchandising and Store Design in New York City. Kathy is a conference speaker, and also an avid baker who developed and launched her own baked goods business.

Elizabeth Stoneman is a museum merchandising and publishing professional with more than 30 years’ experience in the arts and culture sector. Her wide-ranging experience includes product development and production, rights, permissions, and copyright, consumer goods compliance, and cross channel sales metrics and analysis. Elizabeth has special expertise in the development of children’s books, conceiving of and executing book concepts that share art in new and creative ways. She was the editorial director for World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum (2018) and I (Heart) Art: Work We Love from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2019) both published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, among other titles.

Elizabeth began her career at the publishing house Stewart, Tabori & Chang, where she developed expertise in high-end offset printing and worked with some of the finest printers in Europe and Asia.  At The Metropolitan Museum of Art she led the production of innovative and award-winning books, kits, and stationery for the gift market, among the first museum product development groups to source 3D elements for their publications from around the world, including Egyptian faience beads, gold flakes, and custom perfumes from exotic scents that expanded what was possible for museum retail. In her subsequent management roles at the Met she was responsible for Intellectual Property issues for the Merchandise department including licensing the museum’s assets and negotiation with artist rights associations and estates, product safety and regulatory compliance, and global importing and freight logistics. Elizabeth has deep experience with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, Consumer Product Safety Commission certification, UBIT, and other merchandising standards.

Elizabeth holds a B.A. in Art History from SUNY Purchase, with a focus in 19^th century French painting.  She is a volunteer with Reading Partners NYC, where she enjoys tutoring struggling readers. Elizabeth’s many interests include Islamic and pre-Columbian art, antique jewelry, and developing her own independent writing projects.

Cherisse Straw is a specialist in the art and luxury retail arena with more than 30 years’ experience in the museum and cultural market. Her extensive experience includes buying and developing jewelry, home gifts, and sculpture, as well as selling to arts consumers and international clientele in exclusive New York locations. She is known for her product storytelling, which draws on art history, cultural inspiration, and the world of fashion. Cherisse’s consulting work has focused on diversity, equality, and inclusion perspectives for merchandise and retail, where she works to expand product lines to reflect art from under-represented groups and to increase cultural markets by seeking out and communicating with new arts consumers and groups.

Cherisse started her career at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she held roles in retail planning and allocation for jewelry and home décor items, and in the development of fine art jewelry reproductions. Her extensive experience includes inventory control, replenishment procedures, supply chain and product quality management, sales analysis, forecasting models, buying and product development, and store staffing and training. At the Met Cherisse developed enhanced vendor compliance guidelines, while at the same time diversifying the vendor base with age, ethnicity, and gender considerations, and including suppliers from Africa, Asia, Italy, and Spain. She also created the Met’s Artisan Jewelry line, which interpreted the museum’s encyclopedic collection for contemporary audiences. Cherisse has worked on groundbreaking jewelry reproductions for numerous special exhibitions, where limited-edition pieces were offered in store and online, among the first museum high-end assortments in the market.

Cherisse holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Management from Baruch College, and an M.A. in Liberal Arts and Humanities from NYU. Her many interests include international films and world music.

Jim Jacouzzi is a retail data expert, specialized in analytics for store planning and management, with deep experience in merchandise sales performance, inventory control, and visual merchandising. He has worked extensively with advanced reporting and analysis for product category effectiveness across various sales channels, for individual store locations as well as division wide sales planning. Jim uses retail data to inform store floor plans and shelf space plans, creating planograms and other retail schematics to enhance retail layouts, improve in-store sales, better organize customer footpaths, and optimize supply chain management. Jim has more than 25 years of retail experience focused on product display, inventory procurement, and operations. His expertise in retail store planning and oversight includes budgeting and sales forecasts, gross margin analysis, discounting and product exit strategies, vendor relations, customer service, and staffing. He has overseen retail systems upgrades and technology enhancements, managing multiple process transformation projects.

At The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jim led the Allocation department, with responsibility for the product lifecycles of the museum’s extensive and diverse merchandise line. He also oversaw the museum’s expansion into temporary pop-up stores, with a key location in New York’s Bryant Park. An early adopter of green policies, Jim launched the Met’s retail sustainability initiative, revamping product packaging to eliminate plastic and sourcing recycled materials and safe inks that were used division wide.

Jim holds a B.S in Business Management from Albertus Magnus College, and an A.A. in Art History from the Paier College of Art. He has special expertise in environmental issues, including native plant and wetlands conservation, and endangered species work with the Connecticut Audubon Society.

Kelly Steves Moody has a distinguished background in event management and planning, corporate and private functions, and interior design, with 15 years’ experience in the event industry. She has held a number of senior roles at culturally-focused organizations, including as Director of Facility Sales and Service for the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio and head of venue management at the Historic Pearl, a 22-acre culinary and cultural destination with both traditional and contemporary event spaces. At the Pearl, Kelly oversaw a diverse group of highly successful corporate and nonprofit fundraising events that garnered press acclaim. She is also an interior decorator, providing remodeling and design transformations for retail, corporate, and residential locations. Kelly’s independent projects include the public and private openings for Ruby City, a contemporary arts center designed by Sir David Adjaye, and the international conference for theTexas Biomedical Research Institute. She has handled VIP attendees of major events, accompanying national political figures and foreign dignitaries, including Their Majesties, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.

Kelly’s broad experience includes the planning of major events, includng galas, weddings, and product launches, management of rental contracts, attendee satisfaction surveys, vendor management, public relations, and social media marketing. She has extensive experience with event operations and logistics, catering, lighting, A/V, décor, staffing, security, and facilitiy maintenance. Kelly has led events with pandemic safety measures and is current with public-facing Covid-19 practices as well as ADA accessibility standards.

Kelly began her career at The McNay Art Museum, where she organized corporate and private events, and at the American Institute of Architects, San Antonio, where she developed the venue rental program and managed the facility and its advertising.

Kelly holds a B.A. in English and History from Texas A&M University. Kelly has served on the Young Leadership Board for the Design Foundation of San Antonio and is currently an advisor for several nonprofit organizations’ annual fundraisers.

Guillem Ventura is a specialist in the cultural tourism industry with expertise in online ticket distribution, international audience development, and tourism marketing. Guillem led a wide range of cultural attraction accounts while in the Experiences Division of Booking.com, where he worked to expand the reach of partner museums, concert halls, performance spaces, and other destinations through their ticket sales to audiences worldwide. Guillem has broad experience with online travel agencies (OTAs), channel management platforms, commission structures, payment systems, analytics, and KPI reporting. He has extensive experience integrating museum admissions systems with ticket distribution services to control inventory and maximize exposure and sales. Guillem has created highly successful destination promotion campaigns utilizing multi-language translations, reviews, bundling with audio guides and tours, and other optimization techniques that increased institutional reach and program performance.

Guillem served as liaison to the Barcelona Tourist Board at Booking.com and managed ticket distribution platforms and other software in the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Belgian, and Dutch cultural markets. Guillem has experience with a variety of tourism technology platforms and data visualization systems. Earlier in his career Guillem worked at Juniper Networks, managing security and networking system sales, and at the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, where he increased membership through marketing automation and partnership development. Guillem is also a co-founder of the online fundraising platform will.world, which offers streamlined paths for communities to support the arts.

Guillem holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business and Marketing from Pompeu Fabra University (ESCI) Barcelona and a certificate in Product Strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is also certified in Google Analytics. Guillem enjoys his longtime volunteer affiliation at the CAAD Castellbisbal animal shelter in Barcelona.