Eduardo Ayala Fuentes Named Director of Development

The Queens Museum is pleased to announce that Eduardo Ayala Fuentes has been named Director of Development. He began in his new role in April. 

As Director of Development, Ayala Fuentes oversees the Museum’s development strategy and revenue, as well as the department’s management and operations. 

“Eduardo is committed to supporting and engaging diverse communities,” said Sally Tallant, President and Executive Director of the Queens Museum. “He brings to the Queens Museum a thoughtful approach to fundraising and we are thrilled to work with him to further our development efforts so we can continue to present an ambitious, integrated program of exhibitions, education, and community engagement.” 

Throughout his career, Ayala Fuentes has been dedicated to working in diverse, culturally-specific, and community-driven cultural and civic spaces. For over ten years, he has supported educational and cultural institutions through periods of mission evolution and leadership transition, managing relationships through change and creatively engaging staff members and external stakeholders, especially in multicultural and diverse settings. Much of this work has been situated within the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities across New York City. His approach to fundraising has been to effect ethical and sustainable change in the cultural landscape. 

“The Queens Museum serves the most diverse place in New York, if not the world,” said Ayala Fuentes. “I’m honored to join an institution that centers its local community and a global perspective in all of its programming, and I am looking forward to leading an inclusive approach to fundraising and engagement across the organization.”

Prior to the Queens Museum, Ayala Fuentes served as the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art’s first Director of Development. In his role, he oversaw the institution’s fundraising strategy for over four years, including individual donor programs and institutional philanthropy in support of its $2 million annual budget. During this time, the Museum launched a special events program, embarked on a strategic planning process that announced a name change to expand its mission to engage more diverse queer communities, and initiated a $7 million capital project to renovate its space.

Previously, he managed government and foundation grant funding for the High Line, oversaw institutional advancement of El Museo del Barrio, worked on internal communications and public affairs at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as corporate relations at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. He has also led fundraising consultancies supporting local and international organizations, including most recently, Socrates Sculpture Park and Valley of the Possible. He is currently an Executive MPA candidate at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Photo: Tom Stoelker