The Bruce Museum Appoints Carolyn Hamrak as Chief Financial Officer

The Bruce Museum in Greenwich on Tuesday announced the appointment of Carolyn Hamrak as Chief Financial Officer.

Ms. Hamrak, an accomplished financial professional in both the nonprofit and for-profit services sector, joined the museum on July 5, 2022.

Ms. Hamrak comes to the Bruce with 30+ years of diverse financial experience including various fiscal management roles with cultural institutions such as The Metropolitan Opera and The New York Botanical Garden.

“Carolyn is a seasoned financial professional with a strong background in non-profit arts and culture organizations. We believe she is a perfect fit to work with staff to usher in the next era of the Bruce Museum,” Robert Wolterstorff, Executive Director of the Bruce Museum, said in a release.

In her new role, Ms. Hamrak will lead the strategy and management of the Bruce Museum’s finances during a time of exciting expansion and rapid growth.

“I am honored and excited to join The Bruce Museum in this capacity during this transformation,” Hamrak said in the release. “I look forward to collaborating with the many dedicated and talented individuals across the Museum to support and enhance the Museums financial goals and strategy.”

Previously Senior Director of Finance for the New York Common Pantry, Ms. Hamrak was responsible for the overall fiscal management of the organization and oversaw Human Resources. As the Senior Financial Manager for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, she managed the finances for both the Museums Education and Concerts & Lectures departments. Prior to her role at The Met, Carolyn was the Director of Budget Operations and Earned Income at The New York Botanical Garden and served as a Senior Financial Analyst at The Metropolitan Opera. Her experience in the for-profit sector began as a Corporate Analyst for a commercial real estate property management firm. She then entered the financial services sector where she held various analyst roles at Bankers Trust and JP Morgan. A graduate of St. John’s University, she holds a BS in Finance. She is also a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional with a certificate from Fiscal Management Associates in New York. For the nationwide search, the Museum retained executive search consultants National Executive Service Corps.

Located in Bruce Park overlooking Greenwich Harbor, the Bruce Museum is a community-based, world-class institution that offers a changing array of exhibitions and educational programs to promote
the understanding and appreciation of art and science.

For over a century the Bruce Museum has delighted and engaged its visitors by presenting exceptional exhibitions in art, science, and the intersections between the two disciplines. Ahead of its time when textile merchant Robert Moffat Bruce (1822-1909) conceived of the museum and bequeathed the building to the Town of Greenwich in 1908, the Museum is at the heart of contemporary efforts to bring together art and science, technology and creativity, creating moments of discovery and dialogue. The first exhibition at the Bruce Museum took place in 1912 and featured works by local artists known as the Greenwich Society of Artists, several of whom were members of the Cos Cob Art Colony. Their works formed the nucleus of the Museum’s art holdings and continue to be a strength of a collection which has grown to focus on global art from 1850 to the present. Other strengths include Ancient Chinese sculpture, Native American Art, the Hudson River School, modernist works on paper, and photography.

Over the years, the community, through its generosity, has built the Museum’s varied collection to nearly 25,000 objects. Early Museum directors pursued a parallel development of the natural sciences, building strengths in the mineral and avian collections.

In 2019, the AAM-accredited Museum broke ground on its current expansion project, which will take the building from 33,000 to over 70,000 square feet. The New Bruce will feature state-of-the-art exhibition, education, and community spaces, including: a changing gallery for art and five new permanent galleries

in the new William L. Richter Art Wing; a changing gallery for science; a new permanent science exhibition, Natural Cycles Shape Our Land; three new classrooms in the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Education Wing; and a bistro, an auditorium, and grand hall. The new building connects the Museum to its picturesque setting in Bruce Park in a dramatic new way. The New Bruce campus will feature a sculpture-lined, landscaped walking path and inviting spaces for relaxation and contemplation —natural enhancements to Bruce Park and an anchoring connection to the retail hub of Greenwich Avenue. The grand opening of the New Bruce is planned for spring of 2023.