Queens native takes the helm at MOCA

The museum, which is open to the public six days a week (11 am - 6 pm; Tuesday-Sunday, closed Monday), attempts to document 160 years of Chinese-American history.

Almost 35 years after the museum opened, Maasbach assumed her position at the beginning of February.

"Chinese culture, as we define it, is distinct," Maasbach said. "There's no identical story, and identity for Chinese people in America is so complex and subtle. How does one capture or help to tell their journey? The task is a large one.

"As a museum we have to really to think about how to best objectively present those stories - especially in the world of technology," she said. "It's tricky, but there's a lot of fun thinking that needs to happen."

A number of displays in the museum weave together sociocultural and historical narratives to tell the stories of new immigrants and multi-generation families in the US.

Located just a few blocks from the heart of Manhattan's Chinatown, the relative quiet along Centre Street provides guests with a respite from the constant stream of traffic along Canal Street, just to the south.

Maasbach said her new job requires its fair share of responsibilities, including but not limited to: community outreach efforts, fundraising goals, event planning initiatives, and artist and curator coordination duties.

"The Chinese people are a complex body of people, so there is always more work to do to understand the nuances," she said. "The museum has a tremendous task: Telling the stories of complex topics and different journeys. There's so much someone can get out of this."

Before taking her new post, Maasbach held positions in the private and non-profit sectors, including posts with: the Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA), the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Goldman Sachs & Co and the Yale-China Association.

Maasbach also serves on the federal advisory committee for President Barack Obama's 100,000 Strong Initiative, an educational program focused on strengthening US-China relations through Mandarin language learning and study abroad opportunities.

"Throughout my 20-year career, I've always had a China component," Maasbach said.

Maasbach received an MBA in finance from the Yale School of Management in 1999. Until recently she served as the executive director of Yale University's Yale-China Association. The association, founded in 1901 by Yale University graduates, is a private, non-profit organization that works to promote cultural and educational exchange between the world's two largest economies.

She noted that her alma mater has an extensive relationship with China - a link that dates back to the middle stages of the 19th century.

In 1850, Rong Hong, a Chinese man from Guangdong province, arrived in New Haven, Connecticut. Just four years later, he would leave Yale as the first person from China to earn a degree from an American college or university.

During her time with the Yale-China Association, Maasbach said she would travel to China several times a year, including trips to rural areas in a number of Chinese provinces (Anhui, Hunan, and Yunnan), as well as trips to cities like Guangzhou and the Hong Kong SAR.

Maasbach also said the experience she gained during several years with Goldman Sachs, in both New York and Hong Kong, helped her learn the skills needed to effectively run a non-profit like a museum.

Those assets "can never be undervalued," she said. There's "a really strict eye" on financials at non-profits and "you can't wing it".

"My dream for MOCA is that anyone who walks through that door feels some sort of connection, where the experience isn't distinctly Chinese and it isn't exotic or foreign," she said.

jackfreifelder@chinadailyusa.com