Paul Bessire

Paul Bessire

CHief Advancement Officer

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

In August 2019, Paul Bessire joined the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County as their new Chief Advancement Officer, overseeing all fundraising responsibilities for the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, La Brea Tar Pits in mid-Wilshire, and the William S. Hart Museum in Newhall. Bessire had previously served as Chief Development Officer at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA). He brings more than 25 years of development and campaign experience in prestigious U.S. museums, including MOCA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the American Museum of Natural History, New York. He also founded an independent fundraising consulting practice, Art+Philanthropy, providing strategic counsel to clients such as Fundacion Casa Wabi, Harvard Art Museums, and the Public Art Fund.