Phoenix Art Museum names two community and business leaders to Board of Trustees

Oct, 29, 2019

Board of Trustees and Leadership

Phoenix Art Museum names two community and business leaders to Board of Trustees

Sally A. Odegard, Esq., and Don Kile join the Museum’s 33-member board for three-year terms

PHOENIX (October 29, 2019) –Phoenix Art Museum announces the appointment of two community leaders and business professionals to the Museum’s Board of Trustees: Sally A. Odegard, Esq., president and founding member, Holloway Odegard & Kelly, PC; and Don Kile, president of the real estate division, The Ellman Companies. The new appointees join the additional 33 members of the Board of Trustees, which serves as the Museum’s governing body and plays a key role in setting strategic goals and ensuring fiduciary responsibility in collaboration with the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. Mark Koenig, the Museum’s Chief Financial Officer, currently serves as the Interim Sybil Harrington Director as the Museum continues its executive search. Odegard and Kile were elected to the Board, effective October 24, 2019.

“We are honored to welcome Sally A. Odegard and Don Kile to the Board of Trustees of Phoenix Art Museum,” said Carter Emerson, co-chair of the Board. “These new Trustees bring significant professional expertise that will strengthen our Board as we navigate this period of transition. In addition, they, like our current Board members and staff, are committed to increasing access to the arts and arts education for people of all ages and backgrounds in our community, and we are excited to work with them as we create a path toward sustainability that will ensure the Museum’s future success.”

As Phoenix Art Museum continues its search for its next Sybil Harrington Director and CEO, an initiative led by the executive search and strategic advising firm Koya Leadership Partners, the appointments of Odegard and Kile will provide significant leadership experience as the Board and staff continue to professionalize internal processes, expand long-range strategic and financial planning, prioritize diversity, and seek to strengthen the institution’s national reputation, all to ensure the Museum’s long-term institutional health. These goals informed the recruitment and selection of the two new Trustees. Odegard, president of Holloway Odegard & Kelly PC, brings valuable legal experience, while Kile, president of The Ellman Companies’ real estate division, has led commercial and residential real estate projects that have played a key role in the transformation and growth of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

With Odegard and Kile, as well as the recent appointment of philanthropist Ellen Katz as honorary Trustee, the Museum’s Board of Trustees now consists of 36 members who represent the top tier of civic and business leadership in the Valley. Board members may serve a maximum of three 3-year terms before rolling off the board for one year, as stated in the Museum’s governing bylaws. For more information about Phoenix Art Museum and its Board of Trustees, contact the Marketing and Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2105 or margaree.bigler@phxart.org.

About Sally A. Odegard, Esq.

Sally A. Odegard, Esq., is president and founding member of Holloway Odegard & Kelly, PC. A native of Minnesota, she received her juris doctorate from the University of Oregon and has significant trial experience, handling a wide range of complex civil litigation cases. She is a member of the Maricopa County Bar Association, Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, and Council on Litigation Management. Odegard has served in various volunteer leadership roles for Arizona non-profit organizations such as the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault, Theatre Artists Studio, and Fresh Start Woman’s Foundation.

About Don Kile

Don Kile is president of the real estate division at The Ellman Companies. From Amarillo, Texas, he graduated from West Texas State

University in 1983, before moving to Arizona in 1987 to further his banking career and serve as an advisor and strategic consultant to struggling and emerging companies. Kile has posted successes in numerous business and industry enterprises, including commercial and residential real estate projects, throughout the Valley. As president of The Ellman Companies’ real estate division, he oversees all aspects of the acquisition, finance, planning, and development of the organization’s real estate portfolio, executive oversight of shareholder, and debt and equity relationships, including technology-based capital and equity-investment ventures.

Serving on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) as well as the Phoenix Regional Sports Commission, Kile and other community leaders have collaborated with various organizations to promote and ensure a competitive, vibrant, and self-sustaining regional economy supported by a talented, technologically advanced, diverse workforce. He currently serves on the board of Arizona State University Athletic Facilities District and as education budget policy advisor to various elected officials in Arizona. A devoted advocate of youth athletics, Kile also serves on several boards and committees promoting primary and secondary education, amateur athletics, and global citizenship. In addition, he has held various volunteer leadership roles at civic and non-profit organizations such as the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Scottsdale Artists School, and Men’s Arts Council, a support group of Phoenix Art Museum.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 350,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.