A longtime friend of the arts in New Jersey, Barbara held several posts during her 25 years in state government. She joined the New Jersey State Council on the Arts staff as Assistant Executive Director and served over a decade as its Executive Director. In 1999 she was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Cultural Affairs to oversee the New Jersey State Museum, the Division of Archives and Records Management, the Trenton War Memorial, the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She subsequently became the founding Executive Director of the New Jersey Cultural Trust which was established to create a permanent and stable source of funding to help build endowments, create institutional stability and fund capital projects for arts, history and humanities organizations in New Jersey. In addition to her work with the Cultural Trust, she served as Executive Director of the New Jersey State Museum. She led the Museum through a major renovation project and reopened the Museum to the public in May 2008.
During her 17-year tenure with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts she was elected board member and Chair of both the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. She also served on the board of the Council of NJ Grantmakers.
She has received many honors for her contributions to the arts in NJ and nationally including the Arts Management Career Service in the Arts Award, presented at the Kennedy Center; the Gary Young Award, presented by NASAA to recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to the cultural community and who offer leadership to others in the field of public support to the arts; and, the Award for Public Service from the New Jersey Network Foundation. She received a NJ Governors Awards for Arts Education in 1994 and again in 2014 for Distinguished Service.
In addition to her participation as a Trustee of Arts Ed NJ, Barbara is Vice-Chair of the Board of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation where she serves as Chair of the Governance Committee. She is also active on the board on Young Audiences New Jersey and Eastern PA and co-chairs their 50th Anniversary Campaign and Development Committee and serves as past Chair and now member of the Arts United Committee.
A native of Paducah, Kentucky, Barbara received an undergraduate degree in Theatre from Murray State University and a Masters from Bowling Green State University in Theatre and Communication. Her professional career started as a teaching artist, a creative dramatics specialist. She co-founded a children’s theatre company and served as Director of Arts Education at the Monmouth Council Arts Council. She was Director of the New Jersey State Teen Arts Program prior to joining the Council on the Arts.
Barbara lives in Trenton, NJ with her husband, Tom Moran and enjoys gardening, traveling, and learning to play the ukulele.