The House of the Seven Gables is pleased to announce the addition of two experienced professionals to lead their development efforts: Claudia F. Chuber and Pilar E. Garro.
Ms. Chuber was hired as the Development Operations Manager and Board Liaison. She is a management professional who has worked in both for-profit and non-profit settings. Her expertise includes marketing and public relations proven while Director of Community Affairs at the Peabody Essex Museum; planning and execution proficiency displayed in many highly visible events coordinated in her roles at MIT and at PEM, and as a volunteer for several local non-profit organizations; and customer service excellence sharpened as a trainer at Massachusetts General Hospital.
As the new Development Operations Manager and Board Liaison she will support the development department, the board of directors and the Executive Director with high-level administrative functions including planning and reporting. Utilizing her strong organizational, communication and technical skills, Claudia will not only increase the efficiency of our backroom operations, but also our ability to harness our technology and data in our development efforts. She will also help ensure our volunteer Board of Directors have the information and project management support they need to effectively make strategic decisions.
Her development experience includes time at the Northshore CDC and MIT. In addition to a master’s degree in Education from UMass, Amherst, she also holds an MBA from Salem State University.
Claudia was born, raised and educated in Colombia. She has been affiliated with many non-profit organizations in the past.
Pilar E. Garro has come on board as the Director of Development, replacing Karen Barter who retired at the end of 2017.
Pilar has twenty years of experience in the museum field, specifically at historic sites. Pilar previously worked at the Crane Estate in Ipswich, owned by The Trustees where she worked with the Advancement Team to prepare grant applications, manage fund-raising events, identify donors, and cultivate relationships with donors and prospective donors. She also worked for Historic New England’s Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House in Gloucester where she managed development aspects including the Beauport Advisory Committee and secured gifts toward the house.
Pilar holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College, MA, a Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Applied Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and attended the Attingham Summer School, devoted to the study of the English Country House, in July 2010. Pilar is active in tourism efforts on the North Shore as past executive board member of The North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau and is a current board member of the New England Museum Association. The year 2018 marks Pilar’s tenth year as a Salem resident where she lives with her wife, Kathleen.
The addition of Pilar and Claudia is bittersweet as The Gables said goodbye to two longtime and dedicated member of its development team. Karen Barter worked at The House of the Seven Gables for five years as the Director of Development and during her time she helped The Gables put on five successful annual Taste of The Gables fundraisers, spearheaded an initiative to create a memorial brick walkway which has been very popular, and launched the “The Legacy Group” a planned giving campaign. Alyssa Conary was also a Gables’ team member for five years and during her time she worked in admissions, as a tour guide, and since 2013, as the Development Associate. Alyssa contributed much during her time including increasing the membership program, writing several successful grants, most recently the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund and Salem CPA grants to replace the roof of the house, and she also shared with everyone her love of history and Hawthorne, and her passion for the house.