New Staff Highlight: Melissa deFriesse
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Melissa deFriesse has recently joined the Museum of Fine Arts as the new Development Officer overseeing the Museum Council Program.
Melissa is a graduate of Boston University’s Master of Arts Administration program and brings several years of non-profit experience. Her background includes managing comprehensive leadership annual giving initiatives, including overseeing fundraising efforts and developing events for young professionals and families. Melissa’s passion for working with our demographic began during her previous role at The Trustees of Reservations where she spearheaded The Trustees initiatives to attract and engage the next generation of philanthropists.
In her new role at the MFA, Melissa aims to take her knowledge to further engage Boston’s young professionals and ensure the Museum continues to grow and thrive in the years to come.
In her free time Melissa enjoys teaching dance to children, practicing yoga as much as possible, and spending the weekends outdoors with her friends and family.
Please join us in welcoming Melissa to the Museum Council!
Member Highlight: Abigail Ogilvy

Abigail Ogilvy is the owner and curator of the Contemporary Art gallery by the same name, officially opening to the public Fall of 2015. She focuses on finding new talent with today’s emerging and mid-career artists.
Abigail is a graduate of Dartmouth College and throughout her career has worked in the areas of art, advertising, and marketing; however it was her position as an Assistant Curator of Galleria Tornabuoni in Florence, Italy that truly inspired her passion for Contemporary works.
Abigail’s gallery will be moving into the SoWa area of the South End at 460 Harrison Avenue, and sees the responsibility of her gallery as twofold: To work for the long term development of each artists' career, while acting as an accessible public space in which the exhibitions become an open platform for the audience to view and share their opinions.
The gallery will be equipped with Cuseum © technology that will provide visitors with a new way to engage with the art within her gallery. With an eye for the backstory, Abigail gets to know each and every one of her artists and truly appreciates the inspiration behind their work. She looks forward to sharing her passion for Contemporary Art combined with technology this coming Fall.
More information about Abigail and her gallery can be found on her website: https://abigailogilvy.com/