International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8th since 1975 to recognize women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements. This year’s theme is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” WMODA pays tribute to the predominantly female team contributing to the museum’s success. Check out the women power at WMODA by visiting us on March 8!

Louise Irvine has been our illustrious leader since 2014, when she began researching the museum’s vast collections and curating spectacular exhibitions and programs for WMODA. She masterminded the move to our new Hollywood location and envisioned the new galleries, which won the Florida Association of Museums Excellence Award in 2024. She was recently interviewed for the Art Loft show on South Florida PBS, which gives a great overview of the new WMODA.

Kimberly Sheridan had a busy career as a wardrobe stylist for film and print before joining WMODA. As Visitor Services Manager, she is responsible for guest experiences and has been welcoming groups and individuals to the museum since 2016. Her warm personality and efficient manner engage our guests, and she is excited to greet new and old friends at our Hollywood location.  Since the museum’s move, Kimberly has worn many hats, including office manager and hardworking deputy for Louise.

Carolina Bermudez is a museum professional from Colombia who worked at the Met in New York before joining WMODA in 2019. She is the museum's Collections Manager and played a crucial role in organizing the museum’s inventory during the move. Carolina also manages the WMODA Museum Shop and works with local artists, selecting jewelry, glass and ceramic art to sell to visitors.  As with all working moms, she juggles her busy museum career with raising two young daughters.

Lori Brown is our consultant graphics designer, data manager, and webmaster. She has many years of experience in advertising and design. She is responsible for the WMODA website and all the museum’s marketing materials. During the museum’s move, Lori developed the QR cataloging system for the vast WMODA collection. Lori is also a practicing artist, specializing in jewelry and fused glass art. Her work is sold in the Museum Shop.

Maria Delucca is a consultant designer responsible for publishing the WMODA newsletters and web articles. She also played an important role during the museum move, learning specialist packing techniques to handle fragile ceramics and glass art. Maria specializes in creating vibrant graphic designs that resonate across digital and print platforms.

Paula Illarramendi is an arts graduate who joined WMODA in 2023 to learn the museum business. She has proved to be a very versatile team member, working efficiently behind the scenes while the museum was closed and now excelling in guest services. She quickly proved her organizational skills in Collections Management, specializing in inventory control and data processing. Paula also assists in the WMODA Museum Shop, liaising with the contributing artists and helping to sell their work.

Melissa Hernandez is the latest recruit to the WMODA guest services team and greets visitors at the museum’s reception desk. She also assists with the museum’s social media posts and is helping to increase the museum’s online presence as we relaunch WMODA in Hollywood. Melissa is a talented writer and illustrator who combines her art with philosophical storytelling.

Of course, these remarkable ladies have support from the men, notably Luis Montanez, our Logistics and Maintenance Manager for the last five years. As you can see, we keep him firmly in his place!  We are also delighted to have two new gentlemen on the WMODA team providing security and guiding guests in the galleries – Christopher Olsted and Enrique Ballesteros.