Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announced the appointment of Chris Fralic to its board of trustees.
“It’s a great pleasure to welcome Chris to Cooper Hewitt’s board of trustees,” said Maria Nicanor, director of Cooper Hewitt. “Chris has been a longtime friend of Cooper Hewitt and a great advocate for our unique permanent collection, which he intimately understands as an avid collector of technology and design himself. His innovative outlook into the role of design museums is an asset that will serve us well as we plan for the future.”
“Chris brings to our board a passion for design and a wealth of experience from the worlds of technology and philanthropy,” said Jon Iwata, chair of Cooper Hewitt’s board of trustees. “We are delighted to have Chris join us.”
Chris Fralic
Chris Fralic is board partner at First Round Capital, a seed-stage technology venture capital firm, where he led their investments in Roblox, Ring, Warby Parker and dozens of other startups. Fralic has almost 40 years of technology industry experience, from the early days of the personal computer industry, to helping launch TEDTalks, to early internet companies like Half.com and eBay. He is an executive producer of documentaries, including “Uncropped” and “Recollections,” and is an avid vintage technology collector. He serves on the board of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and regularly guest lectures at universities, including Yale, Wharton and his alma mater Villanova.
About Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3-D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world.
For more information, visit www.cooperhewitt.org or follow @cooperhewitt on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
