New Leadership Takes Over At The American Sign Museum

The American Sign Museum announced key changes in top leadership with the election of a new Executive Director.

The board of trustees elected Brad Huberman to serve as the Executive Director, effective March 1, 2019.

Brad Huberman joined the American Sign Museum (ASM) in May 2010. Huberman brings more than 20 years' experience in operations, management, development, marketing, and public relations, including owner of a successful retail business startup, Vice President of Operations of a $22 million wholesale distributor, and administrator of a not-for-profit biomedical research institute. His ability to cultivate and harness all available resources and proficiently manage multiple priorities to accomplish program objectives will continue to be a great asset to the Museum.

The appointment of Huberman will allow Tod Swormstedt, who previously served as Executive Director, to transition into the role of Founder and Curator, to focus on the growing collection. Tod Swormstedt spent 26 years on the staff of Signs of the Times magazine, which was founded in 1906. He became the fourth-generation editor of the "bible of the sign industry," following in his family's footsteps. In 1999, Tod founded the National Signs of the Times Museum, now known as the American Sign Museum. Huberman is the second Executive Director in the Museum's history.

"I join everyone in congratulating Brad on his promotion. Brad's dedication and time with the American Sign Museum makes him the ideal person to lead the organization, while allowing Tod to focus on the ever-growing collection and the upcoming expansion of the museum," Adrienne Cowden, Board President.

Additionally, in March, Sarah Gagnon was promoted to Director of Events.

Signage reflects the history, technology, commerce and culture of our communities. To tell the stories of signs and the sign industry, Tod Swormstedt, former editor and publisher of Signs of the Times magazine, founded the Museum in 1999 as his self-proclaimed mid-life crisis project. With a mission to educate the community about the history of the sign industry and its significant contribution to commerce and the American landscape, the Museum was organized to preserve, archive and display a historical collection of signs in their many types and forms.

The American Sign Museum opened its doors to the public in Spring 2005 in a temporary home at the Essex Studios (Cincinnati). With the collection quickly outgrowing its rented space the ASM unveiled its permanent home on June 23, 2012, in a former clothing factory in Camp Washington, just northwest of downtown Cincinnati. The renovated building features 19,000+ square feet of exhibit space (with another 20,000 waiting for development), 28-foot ceilings able to accommodate sizable outdoor signs, a working neon shop, flexible event space, and an extensive archive of books, photos and documents reflecting the art, craft and history of Signmaking.

For more information about the American Sign Museum, please visit americansignmuseum.org.

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