Board of Trustees

2024 – 2025

Kim Kapalka grew up in eastern Michigan spending considerable time as a kid drawing, painting, reading, and making crafts. In 1978, she attended Washington University in St. Louis on an art scholarship before transferring to the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where in 1984 she earned her bachelor of fine arts degree in printmaking. In 2011, Kim completed her Master of Arts degree in fine arts, integrated arts and education through the University of Montana Creative Pulse Program. While at the University of Kansas, Kim spent a semester in Chicago as a printing apprentice at Landfall Press. Landfall is an established lithography studio that prints the works of such artists as Pat Steir, John Buck, Terry Winters, and Christo. The business is now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition, she spent time off and on as a printers’ assistant with the Lawrence Lithography Workshop, in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1986, Kim accepted a job at the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library, as the arts and humanities coordinator organizing monthly art exhibitions and programs at three library branches. While at the library, Kim piloted “Exercise Your Mind” a highly successful program designed for adults 55 and older to explore arts and craft making. After twelve years in the public library, Kim ventured off to work three and a half years at Artrain USA, a traveling museum on a train based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Job and life changes led Kim from Michigan to Montana, New York, Kansas, Utah, and Alaska. In the winter of 2006, Kim moved from Alaska to Great Falls, Montana, where she became the education and programs manager at the C.M. Russell Museum. At the Russell Museum Kim organized tours, oversaw the volunteer docent program, plus developed enrichment programs for all ages, including lectures, workshops, family days, and integrated arts program for youth. Since 2017 Kim has been the executive director of the Carbon County Arts Guild & Depot Gallery in Red Lodge, Montana. She partnered with the History Museum to get Red Lodge nominated as Hometown Humanities, organized Artists in Schools and Communities and Speakers in the Schools programs, worked hard to raise the funds necessary to upgrade the Guild’s website and technology system. As the executive director she connects with over 140 artists who display and sell art through the Depot Gallery, manages public programming, coordinates fundraising activities with the board of directors and strives to promote all areas of the organization. Kim’s artwork has been featured in exhibitions at the Charles Sheldon Center, Denali Park, Alaska; Syracuse University, New York; and the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York. Her thesis show was installed at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana in 2011. Kim was selected as one of three artists-in-residence for the 2012 Artist-Wilderness-Connection program, a partnership with the Hockaday Museum of Art, United States Forest Service, Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, and the Swan Valley Ecosystem Management and Learning Center. She lives and works in Red Lodge with her husband, Paul Hart.

Hipólito Rafael Chacón, Ph.D., is Bruce and Suzanne Crocker Director of the Montana Museum of Art and Culture and Professor of Art History and Criticism in the School of Visual and Media Arts at the University of Montana—Missoula. He holds an A.B. in art from Wabash College (1985) and received the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in art history with honors from the University of Chicago (1987 & 1995). Dr. Chacón has taught a range of courses on art history and criticism over the last 25 years. In 2014, he was named to the top ten lecturers by the Smithsonian Institute. His academic research and publications lie in American architectural history, historic preservation, and Montana history, especially its visual arts.

His new-found passion is for vexillology (the study of flags) having received the top awards for his research at recent national and international conferences (Whitney Smith Award for the top paper presented at the International Federation of Vexillological Associations’ Congress in 2019 and the  Captain William Driver Award at the North American Vexillological Association Conference in 2016.)

Kayla de la Ossa is the Executive Director of the Schoolhouse History & Art Center, located in Colstrip, MT. Hired in 2019 as Education Director, she has been in the leadership role at SHAC since 2021. Originally from Central Montana, Kayla relocated to the Eastern part of the state to pursue a career in the arts. She is passionate about rural arts education and dedicates much of her time to creating a community based on the idea that art should and can be accessible to everyone. Furthermore, Kayla believes in working toward the goal of removing barriers between museums and individuals to create environments wherein people feel accepted and free of expectation.

Nicole Maria Evans holds a seat as Board Treasurer for the Board of Trustees of the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA). She is Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls, Montana. An art historian, curator, museum professional, writer, and educator, Evans emphasizes collaboration, understanding, and communication in her work. She oversees exhibitions and collections programming and has led the museum’s curatorial direction and preservation efforts since 2019, securing the national Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) award in 2022. She also launched The Square’s publications and traveling exhibition portfolio. Select projects with publications include WITHIN: Louis Still Smoking and John Isaiah Pepion; Il MAESTRO! A Centennial Celebration; OBJECT#: A Permanent Collection Exhibition; and Beyond Intention, featuring Jennifer Reifsneider, Ashley V. Blalock, and Maggy Rozycki Hiltner. Other notable exhibitions include Peter Koch: The Book as a Work of Art, Dr. Charles Smith: Black History Lessons, and VESSEL: Formative Works by Peter Voulkos.

Evans holds an MA in Art History and Museum Studies from Tufts University, with research in Havana, Cuba, and a BA in Art History from UCLA, including studies at Université de Bordeaux, France. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA). With over 20 years in the field, she has held roles at institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, deCordova Museum & Sculpture Park, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the Smithsonian Institution, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and UCLA Hammer Museum. In spring 2025, Evans received The Museums Association of Montana’s Jack Lepley Museum Person of the Year award.

Geoff Stocking is the Chief Collections and Exhibitions Officer at the C.M. Russell Museum.  In this role, he oversees the Curatorial, Facilities, and Security Departments, as well as, doing exhibition design for the Museum’s exhibitions.  In his previous position as Senior Preparator and Exhibition Designer, which he held for 8 years, he was responsible for exhibition management, lighting design, fabrication of interpretive material and gallery furniture, along with, artwork handling and installation.  Before joining the C.M. Russell Museum in 2013, he worked as an Industrial Design Consultant for a start-up tech company in San Francisco, CA, while concurrently co-founding and managing a collaborative curators group that organized pop-up art exhibitions throughout southern California.  Prior to that, he was the Artist Membership Manager at the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Boston, MA and the Exhibition Preparator at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA.   

Geoff Stocking holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana, a Museum Studies certificate from San Diego Mesa College, CA, as well as, completed coursework in Industrial Design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.  In his free time, he likes to go fly fishing with his family and pretends to be an artist.  

Alissa Kost is the Executive Director of the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA). After earning her BFA in studio painting she began her professional career in the arts as an intern at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, NE. From there, she moved to Montana and worked in art galleries and administration before joining the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture, where she served as the Education and Exhibition Curator for almost 8 years. During her time with the Emerson, Alissa gained valuable experience in all aspects of nonprofit arts management, curation, education, and development. She has served as juror for several group exhibitions, a grantmaking panelist, and on MAGDA’s Board of Trustees. Alissa was a proud participant in the Montana Teacher Leaders in the Arts Program offered by the Montana Arts Council. This program helped to shape her commitment to advocating for the arts.

Alissa is also a mother to two delightful little girls, a devoted adventure partner, and avid nature lover.  She still enjoys painting although mostly in collaboration with her toddlers. She is grateful to MAGDA’s supporters and Board of Trustees who allow her to pursue her passion every day.