Museum Leadership

New Trustees

Elizabeth K. Amirahmadi, AIA, is an architect and entrepreneur with a passion for and commitment to supporting her community and fellow professionals through her involvement in and contribution to a variety of educational, professional, and non-profit organizations.

Born and raised in Mazatlan, Mexico, Elizabeth began her architectural studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara. She then completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Nebraska, where she also met her husband, Majid Amirahmadi.

In 1988, Elizabeth and Majid founded International Architects Atelier (IAA), an award-winning architecture firm specializing in public, non-profit, and cultural institutions in the Midwest. Elizabeth has served as a founding Principal of IAA for over three decades, during which the firm has contributed to iconic Kansas City landmarks such as the Kansas City Museum, the Roasterie Headquarters, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

As a Mexican woman in a historically underrepresented professional field, Elizabeth works to support fellow women and people of color within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction fields as well as in the arts. She’s served as a Board Member for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Mathie Rhodes Arts & Counseling Center, as well as recognized twice by the Kansas City Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business.” Elizabeth also enjoys serving as a mentor through teaching at local higher education institutions such as the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas, in addition to serving as a juror in several regional American Institute of Architects award panels.

Having raised her family in and lived in Kansas City for four decades, Elizabeth is proud to call Kansas City “home.” She enjoys giving back and contributing to her community, including serving as a member of the Kansas City Municipal Arts Commission and a board member of the Downtown Community Improvement District. Elizabeth is grateful to have had so many opportunities to improve her community and support the local arts and looks forward to exploring even more ways to continue doing so in the future.

Dick Anderson spent 45 years in the financial industry, 20 years with George K. Baum, before starting his own group to select and monitor money managers for wealthy individuals, small institutions, and religious organizations.

He had the pleasure of serving on two hospital foundation boards for many years, Providence Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital. Mr. Anderson acted as board chairman for Providence for several years. He is now retired.

Mr. Anderson has been on several art boards over the years: Epson Gallery Board, UMKC Gallery of Art (Chairman of the Board for over two years), the Nelson Museum Collection Committee, and the Nerman Museum Advisory Committee. He and his wife, Gloria, chaired the Nerman "Beyond Bounds" event.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were part of a group that founded and served on the board of the Wabash Cannonball, a very successful annual event to provide scholarships for KC students to Kansas State University, and chaired it in 2012. Currently this event has accumulated an endowment for around 55 scholarships, increasing every few years.

Over the past decades, Mr. Anderson has chaired campaigns for the Archdiocese of Kansas City, in Kansas, including the St. Thomas Aquinas High School in South Johnson County (served with Bill Dunn and the late Ben Zarda), and several other building projects in the Archdiocese as well as serving many years on the Archdiocese Finance Committee.

Dan Fromm has been the president and chief operating officer of Barkley for nearly 11 years. He began working at Barkley in 2005, as senior vice president and group account leader. Founded in 1964, and headquartered in Kansas City with offices also in Denver, New York City, and Pittsburgh, Barkley is an independent, creative idea company committed to knowing the modern consumer.

Prior to joining Barkley, Mr. Fromm co-founded Three Wide Marketing in 1998 and served as president from 1998 to 2005.

Between the years of 1993 and 1998, Mr. Fromm was an associate producer at ESPN. Mr. Fromm studied film and television at Boston University, and he attended Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania. He also attended Pembroke Hill School.

Eliza Samuelson is the communications and external affairs manager at The Feminist Institute, a startup non-profit digitizing and preserving feminist contributions to culture in their online public archive. At TFI, Eliza is responsible for all messaging and branding, in addition to managing external relationships. In addition to driving growth and expansion through strategic planning, Eliza has experience in development and has worked on fundraising initiatives and helped the organization bring in over $500,000 in the last 18 months.

Eliza graduated from The University of Kansas in 2019 with a degree in Journalism. During her time at KU, she was most passionate about Art History and Entrepreneurship and minored in both. Her interest in the arts stems from the many years she spent visiting the Kemper Museum with her Grandparents, R. Crosby Kemper, and Bebe Kemper Hunt. She interned for the museum during the fall of her senior year of college. As a member of the board of trustees, Eliza brings a new generation and young professional’s perspective.