Jonathan Ullman – Executive Director & CEO

Jonathan Ullman is Executive Director & CEO of The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. Reporting to a 20-member Board of Directors, Jonathan is responsible for leading the organization that will operate and grow this world class museum.

Prior to joining The Mob Museum, Jonathan spent over 17 years in a variety of management and leadership roles within the nonprofit museum industry. Most recently, Jonathan was the president and COO at the National Soccer Hall of Fame, a private institution sanctioned by the US Soccer Federation that included a 30,000 sq. ft. museum, four world class soccer fields, and multiple retail, concession, and meeting facilities. During his tenure, Jonathan facilitated a strategic plan that ensured the financial sustainability of the organization through a dramatic change to the operating model and relocation of the collections. This institutional “reinvention” was widely embraced by board members, donors, and key community and governmental stakeholders.

Jonathan’s museum career began at Liberty Science Center, where he was intimately involved in operationalizing the Center upon its opening in 1993. Over the years, Jonathan served in numerous capacities, with responsibilities ranging from intensive staff and program oversight to strategic planning and external relations. His purview included the comprehensive management of the public operation, as well as the implementation of educational programming through learning experiences that occurred onsite, offsite, and online. As a member of the eight-person Steering Committee, Jonathan’s contributions helped Liberty Science Center achieve the status of the most visited museum in the state of New Jersey, surpassing more than 9 million guests in a twelve-year period. Jonathan’s efforts also included extensive capital planning and business development. This culminated in 2007 with his coordination of reopening preparations following a $109MM renovation and expansion.

Jonathan earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers College and his Masters of Business Administration from Rutgers Business School. A believer in the importance of community, Jonathan has also served on a number of nonprofit boards.

Michael A. Dagenais – Director of Guest Relations & Operations

Michael A. Dagenais is responsible for the cross-departmental collaboration that ensures continuous improvements in all aspects of the guest experience at The Mob Museum. In this capacity, Dagenais has direct oversight of all staff members who operate the public spaces, including the box office and exhibit floors. Prior to joining The Mob Museum, Dagenais served as guest services manager for the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas where he was a part of the team that built and opened the Preserve. He was also assistant general manager for Rawhide Western Town in Scottsdale, AZ; director of operations for Wet ‘n Wild Water Park in Las Vegas and director of operations for Sea World in San Diego, CA. Dagenais has a Master of Arts with emphasis on museum studies and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of California, San Diego.

Ceres Hill – Director of Marketing & Public Relations

Ceres Hill oversees the marketing, public relations and sales efforts for The Mob Museum. Hill, who has a 17-year career in the communications industry, served as senior marketing and public relations manager for Cirque du Soleil, Resident Show Division, Las Vegas, prior to joining The Mob Museum. In that capacity, she helped develop and oversee marketing and public relations strategies for the seven Las Vegas resident productions. Hill also served as director of public relations and director of entertainment marketing at Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Casino where she was instrumental in overseeing communications for the opening of Spamalot, the rebranding of Le Rêve and other high profile projects on the property. Hill was an account manager for PR Newswire, the global leader in news and information distribution services, and worked for eight years at Kirvin Doak Communications, leaving the public relations firm as an account director after planning and guiding media relations for some of Las Vegas’ most visible travel tourism accounts and community events. She has a Bachelor of Arts in international studies and human and natural ecology from Emory University and has received multiple Pinnacle Awards from the Public Relations Society of America.

Christina Nishiyama – Director of Human Resources & Finance

Christina Nishiyama is responsible for all aspects of human resources and finance for The Mob Museum. Most recently, Nishiyama served as corporate human resources manager for Tropicana Entertainment, Inc, where she oversaw employee/labor relations, development and management of policies and procedures, company-wide communications, recruitment, management of all company newsletters, employee engagement, training, compensation and benefits administration. Nishiyama previously served as senior IT recruiter for Axis Technical Group of San Diego, CA and as human resources consulting generalist for Bienati Consulting Group. She earned an MBA from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts in economics with a minor in psychology from the University of California, San Diego.

Maria Sawyer – Director of Sales

As The Mob Museum’s Director of Sales, Maria Sawyer leads a growing team of private event professionals.  Maria’s recent promotion from Sales Manager marks a year of accomplishments in bringing a variety of private events to the Museum.  Since joining The Mob Museum team in October 2011, Maria has been the driving force in building the Museum’s unique private events and group sales offerings.  Under her leadership, the Museum’s private events programs are expected to expand even more this year into school visits, weddings, concierge outreach, sponsorships and more.

Prior to The Mob Museum, Maria enjoyed a celebrated sales career working for the internationally renowned Blue Man Group and acclaimed wellness resort, Canyon Ranch.  Originally from Vermont, Maria has been in Las Vegas for over a decade.  Her sales accomplishments have garnered her many professional honors and she holds memberships in Meeting Planners International, Las Vegas Hospitality Association and Destination Service Association.