Our Board

Brett Rogers

  • Brett Rogers is a distinguished curator and arts leader, best known for her transformative leadership as Director of The Photographers’ Gallery in London from 2005 to 2022. Under her direction, the Gallery underwent a major expansion and established itself as a leading international institution dedicated to photography and lens-based media. Her appointment of a Curator of Digital Programmes in 2011 signified the paradigm shift in our understanding of the role the digital and networked image now plays in our image-saturated world.

    Originally from Australia, Rogers studied Fine Arts and Arts Administration at the University of Sydney and the Courtauld Institute University of London. She began her career at the Australian Gallery Directors Council before moving to the UK to complete her MA.  In 1982 she joined the British Council's Fine Arts Department to spearhead their photography program, playing a pivotal role internationally over the next two decades, developing ambitious photography programs and curating exhibitions that promoted British photographers  and visual artists worldwide.

    Throughout her career, Rogers has championed emerging talent and expanded the dialogue around contemporary photography. She has curated and overseen numerous landmark exhibitions and publications, advocating for photography as a critical and dynamic art form.

    In recognition of her contributions to the arts, Rogers was appointed an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2014. She continues to influence the field through advisory roles, writing, and mentoring the next generation of curators and artists.

Deborah Willis

  • Deborah Willis is a renowned African American artist, curator, and scholar, celebrated for her ground-breaking contributions to the history of photography and African American visual culture. She currently serves as a University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

    Willis earned her B.F.A. from the Philadelphia College of Art, an M.F.A. from the Pratt Institute, and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University. Early in her career, she worked as a curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for African American History and Culture, where she developed pivotal exhibitions highlighting Black photographers.

    An acclaimed photographer herself, Willis explores themes of family, gender, and cultural identity. She is the author and editor of numerous influential books, including Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present and Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present.

    A recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, and the NAACP Image Award, Willis continues to shape contemporary dialogues on race, representation, and the power of the photograph in American society.

Amy Meyers

  • Amy Meyers (Yale Ph.D., American Studies, 1985) is a scholar of art and science in the transatlantic world. From 2002 to 2019, she served as Director of the Yale Center for British Art and C.E.O. of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (London). She also worked as Curator of American Art at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, from 1988 until her departure for Yale. 

    Meyers teaches regularly on the university level. With Therese O’Malley, she runs an annual Oak Spring Garden Foundation seminar on environmental thought in North America. She is a member of the San Gabriel Valley Humanities Center, a trustee of Curatorial Exhibitions, and an exofficio board member of the Decorative Arts Trust.

    Meyers’ edited publications include Knowing Nature: Art and Science in Philadelphia, 1740 to 1840 (with Lisa Ford); Ways of Making and Knowing: The Material Culture of Empirical Knowledge (with Harold Cook and Pamela Smith); The Art of Natural History: Illustrated Treatises and Botanical Paintings, 1400-1850 (with Therese O’Malley); Art and Science in America: Issues of Representation; and Empire’s Nature: Mark Catesby’s New World Vision (with Margaret Pritchard). She continues to pursue research on William Bartram and the origins of American environmentalism. 

David L. Mahoney

  • David L. Mahoney is a San Francisco–based private investor and former corporate executive with a distinguished career spanning healthcare, technology, and the arts. He served as Co-CEO of McKesson Corporation from 1999 to 2001, where he led strategic initiatives including the repositioning and sale of PCS and the reinvention of pharmaceutical distribution practices. Prior to McKesson, Mahoney was a partner at McKinsey & Company, advising clients across diverse industries.

    An active board member, Mahoney currently serves as a trustee of the Schwab Mutual Funds/ETFs and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), where he holds the position of Secretary and Treasurer.  His nonprofit involvement has included leadership roles at Mercy Corps, Mount Holyoke College, KQED, and Live Oak School. He also sits on the board of Corcept Therapeutics and has previously served on the boards of Symantec, Adamas Pharmaceuticals, and Tercica.

    Mahoney is a passionate collector of American photography, having built one of the most comprehensive private collections over the past four decades. His deep engagement with the arts is reflected in his long-standing contributions to SFMOMA’s Photography Accessions Committee and his curatorial work, including a featured “Collection Rotation” for the museum’s Open Space platform.

    He holds an A.B. in English from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Mahoney lives in San Francisco with his wife, Winn Ellis, and their two daughters nearby.