Education: The Fleming Museum is the leading interdisciplinary, multicultural learning resource in Vermont, offering original exhibitions and programs that serve audiences of all ages.
Collection: The Fleming Museum provides unequaled community access to Vermont's preeminent collection of worldwide art and material culture while conscientiously preserving the objects for future generations.
Community: The Fleming Museum partners with local, regional, and national arts, education and social services organizations to optimize resources and quality of art experiences for its communities.
Biography
Sonja Lunde is an experienced arts administrator and museum professional responsible for providing leadership, strategic vision, and managerial oversight of programmatic and planning initiatives in support of the Fleming Museum’s institutional mission. Prior to joining the Fleming in October 2022, Lunde served as Deputy Director of Planning and Program at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) at the University of Utah. She has extensive experience with organizational change management, mentoring, strategic planning, and programming innovation across museum departments. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from George Washington University and a Master of Arts in Organizational and Strategic Communication from the University of Utah, where her thesis work focused on communication essentials for university art museum leaders.
Sonja devotes a significant amount of her time volunteering in professional capacities. Most recently, she served as Vice President of the board of directors of the Western Museums Association (WMA) and is a former member of the Utah Museums Association's board of directors, where from 2014-2016, she served as President and led a strategic planning process with the aim of improving the quality and scope of the organization’s reach across the state of Utah. Additionally, she has a strong, demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in the museum field, helping to lead the DEI Strategy Taskforce at WMA and participating in several professional development programs, including Museums as Sites for Social Action (MASS Action), a year-long seminar in executive leadership at the University of Utah, and a fellowship with the Museum Leadership Institute (formerly the Getty Leadership Institute) executive education program.
Born and raised in Vermont, Lunde has a special relationship to the Fleming, as one of her grandfather’s photographs from his days as a World War II naval photographer was featured in an exhibition at the museum. She is eager to join the Fleming at an exciting time of new activities and partnerships, including the integration of the museum with UVM’s new School of the Arts.