Name
Tami Fauver
Where do you live?
Benton Harbor
Company or Organization
Krasl Art Center
What is your job or role there?
Executive Director & Chief Curator
How do you think that Bold Women of Business demonstrate being bold?
By putting our heads down to do the work needed and lifting them often to imagine the dream that is driving them.
Bold women are often defined by a number of descriptors. Please choose from the following descriptors to produce the top three that you would say most exemplify your personality?
Intrepid
Unafraid
Bright
Please provide an example of when you feel you were at your very best in taking action on the job or in your role.
I’d like to share a really early-in-my career example. I worked for the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul – my first full-time museum position. I started as their Guest Services Coordinator. We were bringing in an exhibition honoring the career of Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip. We did not have a gift shop, but we had an empty gallery space. I proposed we partner with Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America to create a temporary shop. I cold-called the folks there, set up meetings, wrangled contracts, made merchandise decisions, and hired a temporary shop assistant for the duration of the exhibition. It was a successful partnership and folks visiting the galleries loved it. The bulk of my career, and what I love to do, is take ideas – whether that are led by an individual, an artist, a community, or a moment in time – and figure out how to make them happen.
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened on your road to success?
Selling the ‘Pet Flowbee’ during my college telemarketing job…or walking out of a work meeting in a cafe (after visiting the washroom) with my skirt tucked into my hosiery. These may seem more tragic than funny, but both remind me not to take myself too seriously.
Who most inspires your personal drive for success every day?
My husband. He is a healthy human being who takes care of himself, gives thanks, and consistently speaks kind words.
What is your best advice to women in Southwest Michigan looking to succeed, as you have, in business?
Listen to your own opinion. Ask yourself for it often, work through articulating it until you have the best words to capture it, and use it to inform your decisions.
What does your selection to the ranks of the Bold Women of Business from Moody on the Market mean to you?
It reflects that the arts are a viable and vibrant field where bold woman may exist and thrive. I am honored to be part of this community of Bold Women in Business.
