The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and the RISD Museum are pleased to announce the appointment of Clara Fecht as senior director of development, RISD Museum, effective May 18, 2026. 
 
Fecht joins the college and museum at a pivotal moment as RISD embarks on the planning and implementation of a new strategic plan and advances its ongoing, ambitious fundraising efforts. As a key member of RISD’s Institutional Advancement senior management group, Fecht will execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy to support the operations, philanthropic growth, and global reputation for the RISD Museum. Fecht’s efforts will engage a diverse network of alumni, donors, community leaders, faculty, staff, and external constituents to cultivate meaningful relationships and secure significant support. Her work will directly advance the RISD Museum’s mission to unlock the creative process, empower audiences to participate actively in the meaning and making of art and design, and support a vision where artistic innovation thrives.
 
Fecht brings a background in art history and more than a decade of museum fundraising experience, building strategic and inclusive donor relationships that advance institutional missions and expand access to the arts. As Director of Individual Giving at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, she was an integral part of the contributed revenue leadership team, working with museum executives and the Board to lead major, planned, and endowment giving, raising $14 million annually—nearly half of the operating budget. Her tenure includes leadership during the Norton’s five-year capital campaign for a $100 million expansion project designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Lord Norman Foster, as well as stewardship of a legacy gifts of art campaign that brought more than 415 transformative works of art to the Norton’s Collection. Earlier in her career, Fecht held curatorial and arts education roles at the Detroit Institute of the Arts, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
 
Fecht earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Museum Studies at Denison University and a Master of Arts degree in Art History at the University of Toronto.
 
Image: © Adison Gonzalez