Museum Staff
Kris Jensen, Museum Director (he/him)
kris@sj-mqt.org
Tailyn Byrd, Operations Manager (she/her)
tailyn@sj-mqt.org
Jada Williams, Membership Liaison (she/her)
jada@sj-mqt.org
Emily Zook, Visitor Services Representative (she/her)
emily@sj-mqt.org
Board of Directors
Melissa Leventon, Board Chair
Melissa is a curator specializing in European and American costume and textiles. Formerly Curator-in-Charge of Textiles at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, she is now principal of Curatrix Group Museum Consultants and Appraisers. Melissa has authored or contributed to many exhibition catalogues and journals and teaches fashion history and theory at California College of the Arts. Since 2006 she has been a senior consultant to the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles in Bangkok.
Mai-Chi Vu, Secretary
Mai-Chi joins the museum from the tech industry, where she has worked across design, product management, operations, and more. Currently she leads the customer experience teams at Boomerang, a software company building everyday productivity tools for everyone. Mai-Chi holds a BFA in Art & Design from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She is an avid bowler and fiber art hobbyist - most recently garment sewing and sock knitting.
Erin Algeo
Erin Algeo is a Costume Mounter for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She is Former Curator of Historical Dress and Manager at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, she is known for her innovative exhibitions. After graduating from University of California at Berkeley in Art History and Art Practice, she earned an MFA from California College of the Arts. In 2018, she attained a Masters of Letters in Dress and Textile Histories at the University of Glasgow.
Greg Climer
Greg is a fashion designer and textile artist. He is currently the chair of the fashion program at California College of the Arts. He has worked on design teams ranging from the Victoria's Secret Runway Show to Karl Lagerfeld. His textile work has been shown in the Museum of Art and Design (NY), the deYoung Museum (SF), and the Museum of Craft and Design (SF), as well as the permanent collections of the Leslie Lohman Museum and at the SJMQT.
Emily Frankel, Ph.D.
Originally from Southern California, Emily E. Frankel has been living in Northern California for the last 8 years. An avid reader, art enthusiast and formally trained dancer, Emily completed her studies of Latin American Literature and Culture at The University of California, Davis and thereafter worked at Santa Clara University as an adjunct instructor. She teaches Spanish language and literature classes at The Foundation for Hispanic Education.
Sarah Mills
Sarah Mills is a textile historian and assistant professor of art history at San José State University. Her research focuses on art and design with textiles since 1900, in particular the studio craft movement, the fiber art movement, electronic textiles and playful wearables. She holds an M.Phil and PhD in Art History from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.
Jennifer Mineer
Jennifer has a long history of arts engagement, curriculum development, and education partnership. She is the Executive Director at My Digital TAT2, a youth-facing nonprofit organization in Cupertino and has managed arts education enterprises as a vendor at Google and Meta. She held positions at Community School of Music and Art, University of Oregon and Oregon College of Art and Craft. She is an active artist, specializing in metalsmithing and jewelry.
Jesse Penridge
Jesse is a veteran gallery director, advisor and independent curator. With much of his career spent in New York, he was active in many of the five boroughs nonprofit arts organizations. He is the principal at Alta Fine Art Advisory & Appraisals and a Certified member of the Appraisers Association of America, was a partner of Heroes Gallery and is a weaver.
Laurie Yoon
Laurie Yoon is a civil litigation attorney representing individuals and businesses in a wide variety of matters. Her primary practice areas include personal injury, employment law, landlord/tenant, and business torts. She has been an active and long-standing volunteer in her community and with a local Parent Teacher Association, contributing over many years in a variety of leadership positions including president. She is an avid museum goer who enjoys visiting not only the world-renowned exhibitions in other parts of the world, but also exploring small, quaint local museums with unique character and charm.
