OUR TEAM

At Brent D. Glass LLC, our combined expertise and diverse professional backgrounds allow us to approach each unique project with a holistic view. We are known for our professionalism and dedication to our clients. Our small team size allows for collaboration, innovation and personalized client-solutions. 

Brent D. Glass is Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the world’s largest museum devoted to telling the story of America. A national leader in the preservation, interpretation and promotion of history, Glass is a public historian who pioneered influential oral history and material culture studies, an author, television presence and international speaker on cultural diplomacy and museum management.

As director of the National Museum of American History since 2002, Glass led a two-year, $120 million renovation and development of 20 new exhibitions for the 2008 reopening, including the major exhibitions on The Star-Spangled Banner; Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life and On the Water: Stories from Maritime America, and 80 public programs and 2,500 theater performances. Since 2008, more than 13 million people have visited, a 50% increase over previous years and the Museum’s web site has an additional 8 million visitors. 

Glass is an active member of and consultant to the diplomatic, cultural and academic communities.  He is a member of the Flight 93 Memorial Advisory Commission and of the State Department’s U.S-Russia Bilateral Commission Working Group on Education and Culture.

He travels frequently as a featured speaker or participant in U.S. State Department public and cultural diplomacy programs, and serves as a consultant and advisor to several cultural organizations including The Presidio in San Francisco Presidio and the DeVos Institute at The Kennedy Center in Washington.  He is a trustee of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania and a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Before joining the Smithsonian, Glass served from 1987-2002 as executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, managing the largest and most comprehensive state history program in the country, with 25 historical sites and museums, State Archives, State Museum, the State Historic Preservation Office, public history programs and historical publications.

Glass earned his doctorate in history from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in American Studies from New York University, and bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College. He also completed the program for government executives at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He writes extensively on topics ranging from state-of-the-museum blogs to public memory, historic preservation and industrial history.

OUR ASSOCIATES

RUTH ABRAHAMS

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND MARKETING

Ruth Abrahams has over 25 years of design experience working with museums and cultural institutions. Currently, she heads Ruth Abrahams Design, providing strategic graphic design solutions for a variety of clients including Hillwood Estate, Museum, & Gardens, The Barnes Foundation and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Her studio provides design expertise in visual branding, communications design, signage and wayfinding, and website. She also serves on the national board and as regional cochair for ArtTable. Ruth served as Director of Editorial & Graphic Design for the Philadelphia Museum of Art working on the branding and design for over 250 exhibitions and collateral materials. Ruth received a B.F.A., from the University of Michigan School of Art and Architecture, graduating cum laude. Please visit her website: ruthabrahams.com

ROBERT ALPAUGH

FUNDRAISING COUNSEL

With over 30 years experience as an executive and consultant in the nonprofit sector, Robert has a deep understanding of his clients’ needs regarding development, governance, financial management, turnarounds and other key institutional priorities. Currently, he heads Alpaugh + Associates, where his clients include Barnes - Jewish Hospital (St. Louis, MO), Meals on Wheels - Tampa (FL), and Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, MN) where he initiated a feasibility study for a $40 million campaign and subsequently provided campaign counsel on a $77 million public/private campaign. In addition to his cross-discipline experience, Mr. Alpaugh has held staff positions in opera, theater, dance and music, serving as executive or managing director of institutions such as the Joffrey Ballet, Williamstown Theater Festival and Chicago Opera Theater. 

ALICE GREENWALD

FUNDRAISING COUNSEL

A senior leader recognized internationally for executive expertise in memorial museums, Alice Greenwald has led organizations through challenges and controversy with positive outcomes and negotiated complex issues with empathy and pragmatism to identify actionable solutions, promote consensus, and achieve meaningful resolutions. She is principal of MemoryMatters, providing strategic advising services for museums, memorial projects, senior executives, and boards, with a specific focus on helping communities build resilience through commemoration and documentation of traumatic history. From January 2017 to September 2022, Ms. Greenwald served as President & CEO of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, a position where she was responsible for the overall vision, financial well-being, management, and long-term sustainability and relevance. Ms. Greenwald previously served as Associate Museum Director, Museum Programs, at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). 

KATHERINE HAMILTON SMITH

FUNDRAISING COUNSEL

Katherine Hamilton-Smith is a museum and archives professional with 30+ years of experience in public history, historic sites management, exhibitions and interpretation, collections development and care, National Historic Landmarks, and fundraising. Katherine is the founding curator of the Curt Teich Postcard Archives — a core collection of the Newberry Library, Chicago. She has exceptional skills in building bridges between elected officials and foundation/friends boards to achieve public goals. Under her direction over $30 million in private money has been raised to support public history and conservation initiatives. Katherine is a Certified Archivist. She holds a master’s in Art History from the University of Chicago, with honors; a bachelor’s degree in Art History, magna cum laude, from the University of Nebraska; and studied art history and music history at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

TIA LOMBARDI

HISTORIC SITE AND PARK PLANNER

Tia Lombardi joined the Presidio Trust in 2001 as Director of Public Affairs, shortly after the new agency began operations, employing her skills in communications, strategic planning, community relations and project management. In 2012, Lombardi assumed the new role of Director of Cultural Affairs, which she held until she retired from the Trust in April 2015. In this role, she developed new partnerships to bring programs to the Presidio and to shape the program vision for the future. Lombardi played an integral role in every major development and adaptive reuse effort, contributing to strategy, advocating for the public interest, and overseeing outreach and community relations, communications, document preparation and media relations. In 2011, working with Brent Glass, she led a multi-year effort to develop a cultural facility on the Presidio’s Crissy Field. Recently, she oversaw communications and outreach for Samuel Merritt University and Holy Names University as they explored the possibility of sharing the historic Holy Names campus in the Oakland hills, She is a native of Philadelphia and a long-time resident of San Francisco. She received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1976, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and undertook post-graduate studies in 19th Century American History and Literature at Stanford University from 1976 to 1982.