Museum Staff

Director

As Museum Director, Violetta will provide leadership to our initiatives for further research, development, and education across the UA, gem, mineral, and local Tucson communities. Violetta has a successful history serving as the Interim Deputy Director of Content and Collections and Director of Collections at the Oakland Museum of California, where she served on the Senior Leadership team, representing the Collections, Production, and Curatorial departments, establishing overall strategy for exhibitions, preservation, and collections care.

Curator of Collections

Dr. Susan Leib has joined the museum from Texas Tech University, where she completed a PhD in metamorphic petrology. Her research uses thermodynamic modeling and mineral histories (ages, compositions, isopleths) to determine the metamorphic and tectonic history for the Jurassic Rattlesnake Creek terrane in the central Klamath Mountain province. Leib was part of the TTU Klamath Research Group, where she worked closely with Dr. Callum Hetherington, Dr. Calvin Barnes, and Dr. Aaron Yoshinobu. In addition to the Geology doctorate, Leib holds a B.S.

Guest Services Coordinator

Jordan comes to us from Canton, Ohio with 9 years of experience in the customer service industry, primarily in retail sales. She most recently worked at Tiffany & Co where she was a Sales Professional at their Cleveland, Ohio location.

Operations Manager

As a native Tucsonan, Maria loves the University of Arizona community and calls it home. She has worked with the University of Arizona for over ten years and spent the majority of that time helping students and parents navigate their financial accounts. Maria has a passion for helping our local and neighboring communities and is excited to join the Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum.

Exhibit Manager

Previously a Curator of the Jewelry Television (JTV) Internal Collection, Elizabeth moved from Knoxville, TN to join our team. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s in Geology and Environmental studies from the University of Tennessee as well as a Fellow of the Gemological Association of Great Britain (FGA). At JTV, Elizabeth maintained and improved in-house displays and exhibits by integrating new display techniques.