Metalsmith Benchtalk with Gwynne Ruckenbrod Smith -Executive Director of SNAG

Our guest on Metalsmith Benchtalk Thursday, March 19th, 2015 at 3:00 pm PST is Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith, Executive Director of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, or SNAG. 

About Gywnne: Gwynne is responsible for all day-to-day operations; supervises all SNAG programs, publications, membership services, conferences and meetings; fundraising and financial management; marketing and promotion.

Most recently, Rukenbrod was the Director of Sales and Marketing at Wholesalecrafts.com as well as the Executive Director of Handmade in America, an organization based in Western North Carolina devoted to developing the economy through craft.

From 2008 -2010, Gwynne was the Curator of Fine Craft at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, a non-profit organization founded to advance education about the process, product, and history of craft. She was also the Executive Director of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, Art Curator for The Works (the Ohio Center for History, Art and Technology), and the Director of the Short North Neighborhood Foundation. She has worked with both rural and urban communities teaching professional development and entrepreneurship workshops across the country. 

Gwynne is a member of the Craft Think Tank that convenes annually to provide a platform to explore how craft organizations and makers can work more closely together to further American craft. Gwynne currently serves on various boards including, The Public Art and Cultural Commission with the City of Asheville, The Art Business Institute, and The World Craft Council North America.

In addition to her experience as an executive, Gwynne is also an accomplished glass artist.  She will continue to work and live in Asheville, NC.

http://www.snagmetalsmith.org