Sectors of Impact/Arts and Culture

Arts and Culture

Bridge Partners is a leading national executive search firm with an unrivaled track record of guiding and implementing an inclusive search process, centering both our work and our own culture in equity. For over two decades our clients have trusted us with their senior leadership assignments because of our consistent delivery of superior results.

Our Arts & Cultural Institution clients are organizations seeking to build inclusive leadership teams that reflect the communities and visitors that they serve, the voices they represent and the stories they tell. Please reach out through the form to schedule a time to speak with our team about your search needs.

Bella Desai, Vice President, Public Programs & Exhibitions, The New York Public Library
Featured Placement
Bella Desai
Vice President, Public Programs & Exhibitions, The New York Public Library
Our clients include
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The New York Public Library
The Wright
Newark Museum of Art
Eiteljorg Museum
Philadelphia Zoo
J. Paul Getty Trust
San Francisco Symphony
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
Brooklyn Public Library
The Frick Collection
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Glenstone
Philadelphia Museum of Art
  • Brooklyn Public Library
  • Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
  • Eiteljorg Museum
  • Frick Collection
  • J. Paul Getty Trust
  • Glenstone
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Newark Museum of Art
  • New York Public Library
  • NJPAC
  • Philadelphia Museum of Art
  • Philadelphia Zoo
  • SF Symphony
  • The Wright
Featured Placement

Vice President, Public Programs & Exhibitions, The New York Public Library

Bella Desai
Our Placement

Bella Desai

Vice President, Public Programs & Exhibitions · The New York Public Library

Bridge Partners is pleased to announce the appointment of Bella Desai as Vice President, Public Programs & Exhibitions at The New York Public Library.

In this role, Bella will lead a new and exciting strategic direction for the Library, which includes bringing together the public programming and exhibition teams at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the Schomburg Center, and the Library for the Performing Arts. She will also work in partnership with leadership for public programming in NYPL’s Branch Library system to deliver on institution-wide initiatives.

Most recently, she was Director of Strategic Initiatives for Creatives Rebuild New York—a three-year, $125 million initiative that provided guaranteed income and employment opportunities to artists across New York—Desai designed and led the program that funded employment for 300 artists in partnership with over 100 community-based organizations statewide. She also led Exhibition Education and Public Programs for 14 years at the American Museum of Natural History. Her diverse experience includes work at National Geographic, WGBH in Boston, and for Sesame Street in India.

Desai holds a B.S. from Yale University and an Ed.M. from Harvard University.

I am excited and honored to join The New York Public Library in this new capacity. I am particularly drawn to the Library’s unique position serving both local and global audiences, with programming that reflects both New York's incredible diversity and the international importance of the research collections.
Bella Desai · Vice President, Public Programs & Exhibitions
The New York Public Library
Read the full placement announcement ↗
Connect with our team

Let’s talk about your next leader.

Please reach out through the form to schedule a time to speak with our team about your search needs.

Certified B Corporation WBENC Certified Women's Business Enterprise
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

What is 7+5?