School of Art alumna Lourdes I. Ramos, M.A. ’84, has been selected as this year’s College of Fine Arts spring commencement speaker.

Ramos is the president and CEO of the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, California.

Having an extensive international trajectory directing museums, developing exhibitions and cultural projects of innovation, Ramos is the first and only Latin American woman who is a member of the Accreditation Commission of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Ramos is also a board member of the International Committee for Exhibition Exchange of the International Council of Museum (ICOM-ICEE), as well as a commissioner of the Cultural Heritage Commission (CHC) in Long Beach. She was instrumental in the success of MOLAA’s Partnership with The Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA.

Prior to MOLAA, Ramos was the executive director of the Museo de Arte Puerto Rico (MAPR) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, director of the San Juan City Museum, director of the National Collection of Puerto Rico at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, and scholar assistant of collections at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, Spain.

Ramos holds a bachelor of arts degree in fine arts/contemporary sculpture from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, a masters of arts degree in fine arts/environment arts from Illinois State University, and a doctorate in fine arts and professional research license in arts management from the University of Barcelona. Ramos was a Fulbright Scholar at Illinois State University from 1984–1986, has held the Spanish Ministry of Culture Fellowship at the Collections Department of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and participated in the Museum Leadership Program hosted by the Getty Leadership Institute.

Ramos will give the spring 2019 commencement speech for the College of Fine Arts at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, in Braden Auditorium, located in the Bone Student Center.