OUR TEAM
SARAH ANITA CLUNIS, Ph.D., Executive Director
Dr. Sarah Clunis is originally from Kingston, Jamaica and received her PhD in art history in 2006 from the University of Iowa. She came to the Amistad Center from her role as Director of Academic Partnerships and Curator of the African Collection at the Peabody Museum of Archology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Before that, Clunis worked at Louisiana's Xavier University where she was director of the Xavier University Art Gallery, supervisor of the Art Collection team, and assistant professor of art history. Dr. Clunis has taught art history for over twenty years at public universities and Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Dr. Clunis' research and classes have focused on the history of African art and the display of African objects in Western museum settings. She also studies the influence of African aesthetics and philosophy on the arts and religious rituals and cultural identities of the African diaspora. Her work examines gender, race, and migration in multiple contexts. She has published in both national and international magazines and journals.
Sarah may be reached at 860-838-4089 or via email at sclunis@amistadcenter.org
RODNEYNA HART, Deputy Director, Exhibits and Events
Rodneyna M. O. Hart, a native of Louisiana, is a prominent figure in the museum industry. She holds a BFA in studio art and an MBA in Business from Louisiana State University's Baton Rouge and Shreveport Campuses, endowing her with a versatile skill set. With close to 20 years of experience, she has occupied the roles of director of arts nonprofit organizations, exhibitions manager of museums, museum exhibitions designer and coordinator, gallery curator, public speaking, and DEI consulting. Hart currently holds the position of Deputy Director at the Amistad Center for Art & Culture, where she endeavors to aid the Executive Director and the Amistad team in executing programs, forging partnerships, curating exhibitions, and spearheading other initiatives that align with their educational mission.
Before assuming her current role, Hart served as the Museum Division Director for the Louisiana State Museum system, overseeing four museums throughout the state. Her executive roles on various boards of directors underscore her steadfast dedication to fostering community engagement through enhanced access to arts, history, and cultural resources.
In 2017, Rodneyna was appointed to the Louisiana State Arts Council by the Governor, where she also represented the council on the Folklife Commission for Louisiana. Additionally, she was recognized as one of Baton Rouge Business Report's Forty Under 40 in 2018 and received the prestigious Mercedes Benz Prize for her FU40 class. In March 2022, she was identified as "Who to Watch" by The Drum Newspaper, and in Fall 2021, she was celebrated as a 'Game Changer Reshaping Louisiana Business Climate - Vital Vision: Innovator' by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
Rodneyna may be reached at rhart@amistadcenter.org.
PHILLIP ALBERT, Chief Advancement and Financial Officer
Phillip Albert is from New Roads, LA. The town is named after a “new road” the Spanish built in 1776 between the Mississippi and the False River, northwest of Baton Rouge. Known as the “Little Carnival Capital” of Louisiana, New Roads followed New Orleans’ example by staging Mardi Gras celebrations as early as 1881. Like this road, his journey took him from this sportsman’s paradise to becoming the youngest African American in the history of Louisiana to serve as an Appointed Official for the state on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana State Museum system. As a managing director of a 10-museum system, he honed a skillset including fiscal guidance, collections management, and managing the preservation of the state's historic stories and architecture.
Dedicated to advancing the mission of museums, while simultaneously correcting historical inaccuracies in the legacies of African Americans, this led him to the work and mission of the Amistad Center for Art and Culture. Albert graduated from The Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA with a degree in Business. His past work includes the management of large-scale financial portfolios for major banks, leading philanthropic foundations, and a wide range of development work for non-profit organizations and community partners. Albert has also worked on local and state policies with an emphasis on education, cultural institutions, and economic development. Mr. Albert is committed to community engagement and supporting non-profits in planning, developing, and implementing their organizational mission, business strategy, and transformative practices.
Phillip may be reached at palbert@amistadcenter.org.
BETHANI BLAKE, Amistad Associate Curator
Bethani is responsible for creating and delivering programs for all audiences in coordination with The Amistad Center for Art & Culture and the Wadsworth Atheneum. Her previous roles include positions at the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex in Columbus, Ohio. She has a BFA in Painting and Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Bethani brings experience as a practicing artist and educator in museum spaces.
Bethani may be reached at 860-838-4094 or via email at Bethani.Blake@thewadsworth.org
MONICA MILLS, Education Administrator
An East Hartford native, Monica Mills taught high school math and coached track and field in East Hartford and Waterbury for 7 years before moving to Philadelphia to get her Master’s of Education in Urban Education at Temple University. She is completing a dissertation for a PhD in Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies with a concentration in Urban Education at Temple as well. Monica is a lifelong learner and lover of educating those she’s called to. She has written and analyzed educational curriculum with the New York City Department of Education, Upward Bound in Philadelphia, and several school districts. She’s also a lover of photography and art and makes photographs herself. Monica is committed to elevating the art, history, and culture of the African diaspora.
Monica may be reached at mmills@amistadcenter.org.
Photo by Lotta Studio, New Haven, CT
FRANK MITCHELL, Ph.D, Curator-at-Large
Frank Mitchell is a cultural organizer in visual arts and public humanities. He is The Amistad Center for Art & Culture’s Curator at Large and Curatorial Adviser for the Toni N. and Wendell C. Harp Historical Museum at New Haven’s Dixwell Q House. He is a consultant to SmokeSygnals, the region’s largest Indigenous-led exhibition design firm, on the forthcoming Mystic Seaport Museum exhibition Entwined: Freedom, Sovereignty, and the Sea.
Frank’s curatorial projects include the exhibitions Timeless: Telling Our Neighborhood Stories—Chapter 1: Constance Baker Motley, Finding Freeman(s), The Nutmeg Pulpit: Hartford’s Talcott Street Church & Black Community Formation—and with The Amistad Center—Afrocosmologies: American Reflections, 40 Acres: The Promise of a Black Pastoral, Hairitage, and Soulfood: African American Cooking and Creativity. Publications include the catalog Afrocosmologies: American Reflections, the anthology African American Connecticut Explored, and the culinary study African American Food Culture. He has taught at the University of Connecticut, Trinity College, the University of the Arts, and Franklin & Marshall College.
Frank began work in museums as a programmer for The Anacostia Museum and The Studio Museum in Harlem. A graduate of The University of Michigan’s PhD program in American Culture, he has a Master of Arts degree in African-American Studies from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowdoin College. Mitchell serves as vice chair of the CTHumanities board, treasurer of the New England Foundation for the Arts board, and a member of the Elm Shakespeare Company and the Eli Whitney Museum boards.