Betsy Ennis
betsy@ennisobrien.com | +1 917.783.6553
Betsy Ennis is a communications professional with expertise in strategic planning, media outreach, crisis communications, and event planning for arts and cultural projects. She specializes in long-term strategic planning in the service of clients seeking to establish, solidify, or reshape their reputations and identities. During the course of her 25-year career, she has worked with international museums, corporations, broadcasting companies, and publications, both print and online, as well as with numerous major artists and collectors, and has established relationships with people on four continents in the arenas of media, culture, and government.
Prior to forming Ennis O’Brien, Betsy was Director of Media and Public Relations of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum for 15 years, where she created strategic communications campaigns that presented the museum and its programing as among the most progressive and dynamic in the world. Her approach is characterized by defining projects with a clear, compelling story line and reserving particularly notable and memorable themes for important placements.
Prior to her work at the museum, Betsy was Vice President at Arts & Communications Counselors, a subsidiary of Ruder Finn.
Betsy is on the board of the Newcomb Art Museum in New Orleans, and is a member of Verbier Art Summit. She received her M.A. at Columbia University and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, both degrees in Art History.
Lucy O'Brien
LuCY@ENNISOBRIEN.COM | +1 973.879.4037
Before retiring in 2022, Lucy O'Brien had more than 25 years’ experience developing and implementing strategic communications campaigns for cultural and educational organizations. She has worked on the design and implementation of comprehensive programs for art museums, universities and foundations, and other nonprofits engaged in the arts and culture arena. Lucy’s strengths include the conception and writing of highly compelling press materials and the development of salient institutional or project-related messages.
Prior to establishing her communications consulting practice, Lucy O’Brien was Director of External Affairs at Creative Time, one of the leading presenters of public art. There, she oversaw all communications and marketing activities, obtaining widespread coverage of both specific projects and the organization, and ensuring consistency of messaging in marketing materials. Previously, Lucy was a vice president at Jeanne Collins & Associates, LLC, where, over the course of more than ten years, she worked with a diversity of clients, from Yale University Art Gallery, to Dia Art Foundation, Storm King Art Center, the British Museum, and the World Monuments Fund, among many others. Lucy has also held senior positions in the communications departments of The Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of Natural History. Her first career was as a book editor, including at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Lucy is a member of the American Alliance of Museums and ArtTable, where she served as a member of the board of trustees. She received her B.A. in art history from New York University and her M.A. in art history from Yale University.
Stephanie Markovic
STEPHANIE@ENNISOBRIEN.COM | +1 347.628.4688
Stephanie Markovic has been a senior associate at Ennis O’Brien since its founding in 2017. Previously, she worked closely with Lucy O’Brien, assisting with development and implementation of client communications plans and media outreach for her communications consulting practice. Prior to that, Stephanie also worked with Lucy at Jeanne Collins & Associates, LLC, where she developed, implemented, and oversaw public relations campaigns on behalf of arts and cultural institutions. The projects for which she served as a senior member of the team included: the renovation and expansion of Yale University Art Gallery by Ennead Architects (formerly Polshek Partnership); the debut of a major Sol LeWitt wall-drawing retrospective at MASS MoCA, organized by the Yale University Art Gallery; and the launch of the Renzo Piano-designed Broad Contemporary Art Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others.
Before her consultancy work, Stephanie was an associate in the Media Relations and Marketing Department at The Frick Collection, New York, and press representative at the American Federation of Arts (AFA).
Stephanie received her B.A. in art history with honors from the University of Delaware.