The Frick Pittsburgh appoints new interim executive director

The Frick Pittsburgh has appointed longtime staffer Amanda Dunyak Gillen as interim executive director.

Gillen has worked for the Frick for more than 20 years, and since 2013 as its director of Learning & Visitor Experience.

"We've determined the museum will be best served by appointing an interim executive director who can fully empower our talented team of department heads to accelerate our progress without missing a beat — someone who knows the Frick well and can have an immediate impact," Bob Hernandez, chair of the museum's board of trustees, said in a statement.

Gillen, of Mount Lebanon, currently oversees all adult, student and family programs related to the museum's collection. She was also part of the design team for the Frick's $15 million expansion that added a new visitor center and more to the Point Breeze campus.

"My career at the Frick has been endlessly interesting and rewarding, and I am thrilled to put my experience to use in supporting this valuable museum in its continued growth and success," Gillen said in a statement.

Gillen is a board member of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums, the region's professional museum organization. She also teaches at Duquesne University.

The Frick's previous executive director, Elizabeth Barker, left the museum in October after five years on the job.

The Frick, founded by Helen Clay Frick, includes an art museum that hosts a permanent collection as well as touring shows like this year's hit "Vermeer, Monet, Rembrandt: Forging the Frick Collections in Pittsburgh and New York."

The leafy campus also includes Clayton, the former home of industrial magnate Henry Clay Frick, and the Car & Carriage Museum.