Maura Pilcher currently serves as the Director of the Grant Wood Art Colony at the University of Iowa. She holds Bachelors of Art in Anthropology and Art History from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has over 15 years of experience in the museum industry including The Phillips Collection (Washington, DC), The Field Museum (Chicago, IL), and The Snite Museum (Notre Dame, IN). An Iowa native, she returned to Cedar Rapids in 2008 to become the Assistant Director of Brucemore, a National Trust Historic Site where she oversaw house museum operations, preservation/conservation initiatives, and buildings and grounds staff. She has participated on preservation-related panels and provided workshops for national audiences and has served on several local and state boards. Pilcher currently serves as the chair of th Linn County Historic Preservation Commission, president of the Grant Wood Elementary PTA, and member of the National Trust Advisory Board.