A+D STAFF
Tibbie Dunbar, Executive Director
Tibbie Dunbar became the first Director of A+D Architecture and Design Museum Los Angeles in December 2004. In the ensuing 5 years, Tibbie has developed the A+D into an active center of architecture and design, launching cutting-edge programming in education, symposia, musical arts performances, cultural urbanism, interactive platforms, and the creation of an installation space where architects, designers, and artists are invited in to conceive on-site projects.
As curator, Tibbie has continued to develop the founders' original vision for the museum, by expanding the breadth of the museum to include exhibits of design. To further fulfill the museum’s mission, Tibbie attracts national and international exhibits of both architecture and design, and pursues grant support and underwriting for these initiatives. Under Tibbie Dunbar’s stewardship, outstanding exhibits have traveled to A+D from Canada, Finland, and from around the United States.
In her role as director, Tibbie has guided the Board in their fundraising efforts. More than $1 million of support has been raised to date. In addition she helped assemble an unprecedented Foundation group for A+D, comprising forty of the top Los Angeles architects and designers.
Tibbie Dunbar has a M.F.A., a B.A. in French and English Literature, and is bilingual in French and English. She is a practicing fine artist, whose work has been exhibited locally and nationally. As an artist, Tibbie enhances her contribution to A+D with a broad and encompassing vision of arts and design.
David Shearer, Business & Development Director
David Shearer has been influential in disseminating design and design
education to the public for over two decades. His recent appointment as Director
of Business + Development at A+D Architecture and Design Museum Los
Angeles brings his career path full circle. Having worked with a number of non-
profit organizations including the Buckminster Fuller Institute, Neutra Institute,
John Lautner Foundation and others to promote and preserve important historical
legacies in architecture and design, Shearer also created venues in the for profit
sector that exposed the public to emerging designers from around the world.
After studying architecture under Ralph Rapson (one of the original “Case Study”
architects) at the University of Minnesota, Shearer formed Geometrie: A Gallery
of 20th Century Design in Minneapolis in 1984. After moving to New York in
1990 to run Modern Age Galleries, Shearer focused on contemporary design,
which ultimately led to the formation of Totem Design Group. Totem, an acronym
for "The Objects That Evoke Meaning,” has been critically acclaimed for the
series of exhibitions, publications, seminars, and design education initiatives that
Shearer presented. Shearer has been widely published in the field of design and
has produced several documentaries and publications about design.
Shearer currently lives in Claremont, CA, a little known pocket of mid-twentieth
century art and architecture. When not traveling to design shows around
the globe he can be found searching out unknown architectural treasures
or researching design archives for an upcoming exhibition, documentary or
publication.
Sarah Lane, Membership & Special Programs
Sarah joined A+D in the summer of 2009 after returning from New York City where she worked with an urban and retail design firm. The firm specializes in the planning of public spaces and the management of public projects. While in New York, Sarah also completed freelance graphic design work for members of the architecture and publishing communities.
In her work with A+D, she has enjoyed interaction with the community and promoting the educational efforts of the museum. She continues as a practicing graphic designer with a comprehensive love of the arts.
Lindsey Byron, Operations Administrator
Lindsey Byron became involved with A+D Architecture and Design Museum in January 2011 as an intern and was hired as an Operations Administrator in October 2011. She is a fine art photographer with a B.F.A. in Photography and a minor in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work was first sold in France at a gallery show, which ignited her interest in working in the museum world. She is inspired by the changing exhibits, and loves being a contributing part of A+D.
Danielle Cornwell, Consultant
Since the early planning stages of the A+D, Danielle Cornwell worked closely with Stephen Kanner, founder of the Museum. She was a key coordinator for the inaugural opening in 2001 at The Bradbury Building. In 2010 when the A+D moved to its permanent home on Museum Row, she joined the exhibition committee where she worked directly with Kanner for the reopening of the A+D, to the last exhibition Kanner directed before his death in 2010.
She has worked as a designer and Senior Project Manager for architecture and interior design firms in Savannah, Georgia, New York City and Los Angeles and is currently consulting with the A+D on exhibitions and events.
