Museum Leadership
Message from the Executive Director
2025 was a year of momentum and meaningful connection at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. We welcomed more than 52,000 visitors through our doors—artists, neighbors, students, and first-time guests—each bringing curiosity and energy to the Museum.
One of our most exciting milestones this year was the launch of free membership, a step that reflects our belief that contemporary art should be accessible to everyone and that belonging at Kemper should feel open, inviting, and generous. This shift expanded our community and strengthened the sense that Kemper is a shared civic space for Kansas City.
Throughout the year, the Museum continued to present ambitious exhibitions, dynamic programs, and thoughtful conversations that engaged the most urgent ideas of our time. These efforts affirmed Kemper’s role as a place where people come together to experience art, exchange ideas, and see the world differently.
The Museum’s progress is only possible because of you – our supporters, trustees, artists, and staff. Your commitment and belief in Kemper fuels our ability to remain free, bold, and forward-looking. As we look ahead, we do so with optimism and gratitude.
Jessica May
Executive Director
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
2025 Board of Trustees
William (Bill) C. Gautreaux, Chair
Erica McGeachy Crenshaw, Co-Chair
Elizabeth Amirahmadi
Richard (Dick) Anderson
Sheila Kemper Dietrich
Dan Fromm
Dr. Adrienne Walker Hoard
Karen Holland
Jim Lawrence, Secretary
Sheila Kemper Dietrich joins as a new Board Member in 2025
Greg Maday
Kat Wood Norris
Duvel (DJ) Pierre
Eliza Roometua
Cathy Beaham Smith
Toma Wolff
Mary Kemper Wolf, Chair Emerita
Bebe Kemper, Emerita
New Leadership
Sheila Kemper Dietrich is the Founder and CEO of Livliga. She is also an award-winning author and mother of 3. She invented Livliga, artist-designed, portion-control dinnerware and also its companion product Kidliga, portion-control dishware for children. Kidliga comes with the award-winning children’s storybook, Sammie & Sax in the Land of Quinoa: The Search for a Balanced Meal, written by Ms. Dietrich.
Sheila was born and raised in Kansas City and attended Sunset Hill School for Girls, now Pembroke Hill School. She graduated from Pitzer College with a B.A. in Social Anthropology and African Studies and was also a visiting undergraduate at Harvard University.
Sheila moved to Colorado in 2005 when she became Executive Director of NARHA (The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) which is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. She then became Executive Director and Regional Manager for the American Heart Association in Denver. Prior to moving to Colorado, however, Ms. Dietrich was Executive Vice President and Divisional Manager of Trust & Wealth Management for UMB Bank.
Sheila’s commitment to her community includes extensive volunteer experience as well as service on boards. She was appointed by Missouri Governor Christopher (Kit) Bond to serve on the Missouri Arts Council from 1983 to 1988. In 1991, she was appointed by the Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver to the Board of Parks and Recreation where she was a Commissioner until 1999. Additionally, she was Chairman of the Research Foundation from 2004 to 2005 and served on the Committee on Collections at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for more than 12 years.
When she moved to Colorado she joined the board of the National Sports Center for the Disabled and also served on the board of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art for 6 years, including involvement on the Strategic Planning and Expansion committees.
Sheila’s commitment to the arts has been lifelong both as a volunteer and a professional. She worked for Marie Jeanne Adams in the African Art Collection at the Peabody Museum at Harvard and with Frère Joseph Cornet on a collection of BaKongo Funerary Art at the Musées Nationaux du Zaïre. This collection became the core of an exhibit at the National Gallery in DC called The Four Moments of the Sun. Sheila was able to attend the exhibition opening she returned from the Peace Corps.
Ms. Dietrich was a founding board member Euphrates Gallery, an art gallery focused on diversity in art and artists, especially emerging African American Artists.