The Board of Trustees of the Mission Inn Foundation proudly announces the selection of museum professional Gina Cavallo Collins as Executive Director of the Mission Inn Foundation. She replaces current director Steve Spiller who is retiring the end of January 2018 after 15 and a half years with the Foundation. With a career spanning 30 years, 7 institutions, and a broad range of roles, Gina Cavallo Collins brings a solid museum background and a passion for history, non-profit management, and community engagement. Past positions include registrar and curator at the Heard Museum, the Shemer Art Center and Museum, and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in the Phoenix, AZ area; statewide exhibitions coordinator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and gallery manager at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond in Richmond, VA; and gallery director/curator as well as adjunct faculty at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA. She has also been a small business owner for over 20 years, serving as the administrator and CFO for Victory Farms, Inc. in both Phoenix and Virginia.
“The opportunity to be the Executive Director of the Mission Inn Foundation and Museum is truly a dream job for me,” says Cavallo Collins. “I love the Inn, the Inland Empire, California history, and the connection the Foundation has to the community. We are uniquely poised to bring the stories of the preceding generations of
California residents to life through in-depth tours of the Inn, educational outreach, and unique programming geared to all ages.”
Born in Upland, California, Cavallo Collins has also lived in Arizona, Maine, and Virginia, always with an eye toward moving home. Her grandfather immigrated from Italy to southern California in 1921 and moved with his wife and family to Ontario in 1943. “Not only do I have the chance to work with a great staff, board, and docents,” says Cavallo Collins, “and work in a spectacularly beautiful historic inn with an amazing collection, but I am also now surrounded by my entire extended family.”
With plans to immerse herself in the Riverside community, Cavallo Collins will be looking to build collaborative opportunities with other museums, educational institutions, businesses, and individuals. “I’m very interested in how we serve residents now and how we can expand what we do to benefit all of Riverside and the surrounding areas. Building relationships and making people feel a connection to our shared history is critical to my role. It is also what inspires me.” Cavallo Collins will begin her new role in early January, working with Steve Spiller until his departure the end of the month to ensure a smooth transition.