Position:
Director of Development, Shenandoah Conservatory
Pronouns:
She / Her / Hers
Location:
Ruebush Hall, Room 108
Phone:
(540) 665-4733
Email:
mmathewe@su.edu
Employed Since:
2018
Educational History:
B.A., Virginia Tech; M.A., Virginia Commonwealth University; M.B.A., College of William & Mary
Professional Highlights:
Melanie L. Mathewes is the director for development for Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University working closely with the membership of the conservatory’s Dean’s Circle.
Before coming to Shenandoah University, Mathewes spent 30 years working in the museum field. She was the executive director for the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, Virginia, and the Hermitage Museum & Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia. Other museums she worked at during her career are Agecroft Hall, the Museum of the Southwest, Fredda Turner Durham Children’s Museum, Craven Arts Council, Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens, and Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
Mathewes has contributed to exhibition publications such as The Horse in Ancient Greek Art, Glass FX: Paintings by Roberto Bernardi and Building from the Past: An Architectural History of Agecroft Hall. She has curated over 25 exhibitions of art to include TREEmendous Treehouses an outdoor exhibition featuring eleven full-scale interactive treehouses situated in the landscape of a 155-acre botanical garden.
Mathewes taught art and architectural history courses for three years for the Virginia Commonwealth Community College system.
She has served on numerous nonprofit boards. Presently, she serves as the chair for Visit Loudoun Board and is a member of the Middleburg Concert Series Board.
Personal Quote:You may not be ready for this opportunity, but this opportunity is ready for you.
– Chef Kwame Onwuachi