Rebecca McNamara is chief curator at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Conn., specializing in 19th-century through contemporary American art with a focus on craft. Her work centers on interdisciplinary collaboration and promoting emerging and under-represented artists.

She has held curatorial roles at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, curating 15+ exhibitions including "Up to Us: Black Dimensions in Art, 1975-Tomorrow" and "Radical Fiber: Threads Connecting Art and Science." She's an inaugural recipient of the Lenore Tawney Fellowship and serves on the Surface Design Association's board.