Anne Lenhart

Originally from Ponca City, OK, Anne Lenhart has built a career at the intersection of art, history and stewardship. She earned her undergraduate degree in European History from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, VA, where she also interned with the Office of the Senior Historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C. That formative experience led her back to the USHMM after graduation, serving on the front lines of visitor engagement before charting a new path in the museum world.

A move to Dallas opened the door to museum finance at the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), but Lenhart soon discovered her true passion lay in the life of collections—not spreadsheets. She transitioned to the DMA’s collections and registration department, where she spent the next decade honing her expertise in the care, documentation and movement of artworks.

In 2016, Lenhart joined the Meadows Museum at SMU as Collections Manager, overseeing the Meadows Museum Collection, the University Art Collection, and the Master of Fine Arts Collection. During this time, she deepened her leadership and administrative skill set by completing dual master’s degrees—a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and a Master of Business Administration—with concentrations in management and data analytics.

Her commitment to thoughtful stewardship and strategic collections care led to her promotion in 2022 as Director of Collections and Exhibitions. In this role, she oversees all aspects of exhibition planning and execution—from long-range scheduling to the financial architecture that sustains major projects. Her responsibilities include multi-year exhibition budgeting, managing both cash and accrual accounting for complex projects, and developing forecasting models that support institutional planning and resource allocation. And in 2025, her early experience in museum finance came full circle when she joined the faculty of SMU’s Master of Arts in Arts and Nonprofit Leadership program as an instructor in Financial Stewardship, bringing her multidisciplinary background to the next generation of arts leaders.

Outside of work, Lenhart remains an active force in the arts community. She serves as an illustrator for the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists, sits on the advisory committee for Texas Vignette, and is a board member at the Cedars Union, an arts incubator in Dallas dedicated to supporting emerging artists and creative practice.