The Phoenix Art Museum is looking for a new CEO.

Amada Cruz, executive director of the museum since 2014, announced on Monday that she will leave July 10 to take the top job at the Seattle Art Museum.

The move takes her from a nonprofit with an $11 million annual budget to one of the largest museums on the West Coast with $38 million in annual expenses (as of 2017).

In a letter sent to museum members and donors, she said she would be working with Jon Hulburd, chair of the board of trustees, on a transition plan and a national search for a replacement.

In an official statement, Hulburd praised Cruz’s “extraordinary vision.”

“Amada dedicated herself to elevating the museum, its collection and its scholarship on a national and international scale and empowered her staff to do the same, all while creating new opportunities for local artists and working to increase access so that every person in our community knows that they are welcomed here,” he said.

Cruz replaced James Ballinger, who led the museum for 32 years before he retired. She was charged with shoring up the organization’s finances after troubles brought on by the 2008 recession.

And she did, but not without breaking a few eggs. In the first six months of Cruz’s tenure, more than a dozen employees left the museum, with at least one publicly blaming the director’s “abrasive” management style.

Earlier this year, Phoenix New Times reported on the decline of the museum’s volunteer docent program under Cruz.

Cruz also led initiatives to reach out to new audiences, including bilingual programming that will culminate in the launch of a fully bilingual website this fall. Exhibitions have featured diverse artists such as African American portrait painter Kehinde Wiley as well as an increased spotlight on local artists.

Talk to the writer about arts and culture at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheater and twitter.com/KerryLengel.

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