Lisa Funderburke Hoffman

Lisa Funderburke Hoffman (b. Long Island, NY in 1970) is an arts administrator and non-profit Director known for advocating for a bridge between art and science and supporting community engagement in the arts.

Education In 1994 Hoffman received her Masters of Science from Howard University in Washington, DC where she studied biology. In 1998 she was a National Science Foundation Fellow.

Career Hoffman was Associate Director of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, a contemporary art center in Charlotte, NC. While working for the McColl Center, Hoffman pioneered models of artist-led community engagement for Charlotte. Prior to working in the arts at McColl she was Director of the Charlotte Nature Museum and worked at the National Museum of Natural History. She compared scientists to artists because of their ability to look for the unexpected. Hoffman advocated for Environmental Art and Public Art as a catalyst to integrate established communities with new members. She was Curator of Art + Ecology for the Brightwalk project, a sustainable neighborhood development in Charlotte, NC.

In the Summer of 2015 Lisa Hoffman was appointed by President Barack Obama as a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board. In early January 2026, Funderburke resigned from the Artist Communities Alliance; on January 29, 2026, the Newark Museum of Art announced Funderburke as its next director and chief executive.