Karen Spahn

Karen Spahn is currently the Senior Vice President of Development for the Milwaukee Public Museum. In that role, she is responsible for directing and evaluating all of the fundraising functions of the Museum to include membership, planned giving, grants, sponsorships, operating and capital campaigns.

Prior to joining the staff at MPM, Spahn served as Senior Director of Development at the Milwaukee Art Museum. While employed at MAM, she coordinated the design, development and implementation of broad based fundraising efforts to support the Museum’s operations, collection growth, programs, capital and endowment needs.

Spahn served as Program and Development Officer at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation for eleven years. At the Foundation she worked primarily in areas of Arts and Culture grant-making, and in convening arts and cultural organizations around important topics and issues. Spahn provided staff support to the Cultural, Artistic and Musical Advisory Council (CAMPAC), making recommendations to the County Executive and County Board of Supervisors regarding distribution of funding.

Spahn continues her consulting business and occasionally serves as staff liaison to the City of Milwaukee Arts Board Public Art Committee. Karen is sought after locally, regionally and nationally as a speaker on the topics of fundraising, grant-writing, public art issues including controversy, process, and government funding for the arts. Her current volunteer commitments include: the advisory council of the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts, the board of directors of Visit Milwaukee and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee. Previously she served on the State of Wisconsin Legislative Study Committee on the Arts which created a state arts endowment. She was a founding member of the Wisconsin Assembly for Local Arts (now Arts Wisconsin) and served on the Community Arts Advisory Committee for the Midwest Express Center. Spahn has been cited for her work in the arts by the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, and the State of Wisconsin. In 2003, Spahn received the National Association of Counties “Arts Advocacy Award,” recognizing her work in the arts locally, regionally and nationally.