After 12 years as Bruce A. Beal Director at Rollins Museum of Art, Dr. Ena Heller announced she will be stepping down at the end of November to take on the role of Executive Director at the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
The news was accompanied by a statement from Rollins Museum that listed the many achievements under Heller’s leadership, including the addition of more than 1,300 pieces to the permanent collection and the exhibition of its contemporary collection at The Alfond Inn. But her journey as an art historian and educator began during her childhood in Bucharest, Romania.
Heller told the32789 during a July 2023 conversation that her interest in history was inspired by her father, who was a historian, and that her mother would often take her to art museums. “As a visual person, I think those experiences gave me an opening to learn more about art history,” she said. “Ultimately, I took my love for history and combined it with the passion I feel for art.”
She earned a master’s and doctoral degree from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. She became the founding director of New York’s Museum of Biblical Art in 2005 and held the position until 2012, when Rollins College recruited her as director of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum – later changed to the Rollins Museum of Art.
Of the challenges she has faced throughout her career, Heller feels that keeping museums relevant and sustainable in modern culture is among the most consequential. “There are a lot of changes happening in the museum world right now and we are all striving to make museums more open, inclusive, and relevant to a larger part of our population,” she said. “At the same time, there is always a struggle for fundraising to support our programs and ensure long-term sustainability.” She met those challenges at Rollins Museum, overseeing the creation of its first exhibitions endowment and a quadrupling of its attendance numbers. She was also an active participant in planning the new Rollins Museum of Art and its capitol campaign, currently on track to reach its goal by early 2025.
After her announcement, Heller told the32789 that she takes particular pride in the expanded role that art plays in the Rollins educational experience and the ways that the museum has expanded public engagement with the Alfond Inn exhibits, but feels she is ready for a new challenge.
“I am leaving the museum in a really good place, but I am at the point where I need a new platform and a different challenge,” she said. Frequent family visits to the Boca Raton Museum of Art have allowed her to witness its evolution and note the possibilities for its future. “It’s a very well established museum, yet I feel there is a lot of potential for growth and that’s what really excites me,” she said. “I’ve always been energized by the challenge of bringing an institution to its next level of excellence.”
Heller’s departure is one of many throughout the Winter Park community. Rollins College President Grant Cornwell announced in April that he will leave office in June of 2025 after 10 years in his current position. Winter Park Health Foundation President and CEO Patricia Maddox announced she will retire at the end of the year, as will Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens Executive Director Debbie Komanski. Friends of Casa Feliz Executive Director Susan Omoto retired in March.
Heller will be staying on through the end of November and starting her new position on February 3, 2025. An interim director will be appointed by the Rollins Museum of Art Board of Directors and a national search for a permanent replacement will begin soon after.