Do you have four majors because you couldn't bear to pick just one?
Are you unsure of how your academic focus will translate to a career?
Have your extracurriculars opened your eyes to new interests you didn't even know you had?
Hear from alumni who are currently employed at the Cleveland Museum of Art during an interactive panel designed to explore the many ways an Oberlin education can prepare you for your career post-grad. Although these alums have distinctly different backgrounds and Oberlin journies, they have all found success in a common place. Many institutions hold prefessional opportunities far beyond what you may expect. We hope this panel provides information and inspiration to students who are exploring their own professional interests! There will be a Q&A portion of this event.
This panel features:
Gabe Pollack '11, Director of Performing Arts
Gabe Pollack currently serves as Director of Performing Arts at The Cleveland Museum of Art. In his role, Pollack is responsible for overseeing the internationally recognized performing arts program at the CMA which includes the annual Solstice Festival, City Stages concert series, and monthly MIX events. He also programs the museum’s atrium, galleries, auditorium, restaurant, recital halls, and its satellite locations including Transformer Station and Community Arts Center with concerts from classical to contemporary as well as global music traditions, dance, and film.
Prior to joining CMA, Pollack served as Director of Bop Stop, a vibrant jazz club in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood that was voted Best Jazz Club in America by readers of All About Jazz in 2019. In his work at Bop Stop, Gabe presented more than two thousand concerts spotlighting local, national and international artists – including more than 180 Grammy Award winners or nominees. Under Pollack’s leadership, nearly 20 live albums were recorded at Bop Stop. During the pandemic, Pollack launched the terrestrial radio program and podcast “Live at the Bop Stop.” Currently, the show airs on 89 stations worldwide, and it won Best Innovation by a Club, Venue or Festival from the National Independent Venue Association in 2022.
Pollack was the recipient of the Jazz Journalist Association’s Jazz Hero Award in 2023.
Tara Bobinac '22, Associate Developer in the Digital Innovation & Technology Services
Tara is a 2022 Oberlin graduate with a BA in Computer Science and Russian (with a minor in Linguistics) who now works at the Cleveland Museum of Art as the Associate Developer in the Digital Innovation & Technology Services department. She got her MS in Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in spring 2025 before being hired by the Museum and returning to Ohio. She feels that working at an institution like CMA grants her the ability to put her technical skills to use, while being grounded in a creative environment motivates her to continue pursuing her own artistic endeavors in her free time, including printmaking, painting, and writing. She feels that Cleveland is an underrated city in terms of all it has to offer and she likes making the occasional trip to Oberlin to get the kimchi ramen at Kim's and to visit a few of the professors and friends she still keeps in touch with. She looks forward to making the most of her time at CMA over the next few years before figuring out what's next.
Steven Mentzer '20, Exhibition Project Manager
Steven Mentzer is an arts professional from Oberlin, Ohio, with a career shaped by a deep interest in how artwork is cared for, presented, and preserved. A 2020 graduate of Oberlin College, Steven began building that foundation early—working as a student assistant at the Oberlin Art Library’s reference desk and later interning at the Brooklyn Museum through Oberlin’s museum-focused programs and connections. After graduating, he moved to New York City and immersed himself in the contemporary art world. He spent time in artist studios before moving into high-end art framing, producing custom preservation-quality frames for major galleries, museums, and private collectors.
Now working at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and following federal IMLS funding cuts and internal restructuring, Steven now works as an Exhibition Project Management at the CMA. In this role, he manages installations for smaller exhibitions and coordinates the movement and installation of artworks across all permanent collection galleries. Every artwork installed, rotated, or relocated passes through his coordination, requiring close collaboration with curators, designers, registrars, conservators, and security to ensure everything runs safely, efficiently, and smoothly.
Callan Engstrom '25, Collections Management Intern
Callan Engstrom (she/her) is from Anaheim, California. She graduated from Oberlin in 2025, double majoring in History and Politics with a minor in Art History. While at Oberlin, she worked at the Allen Memorial Art Museum as a Gallery Guide all four years, and as an Education Department Assistant for one year. She also worked at the Oberlin Heritage Center one summer as the Education and Research Intern. Callan is currently working at the Cleveland Museum of Art at the Nord Network Intern in Collections Management, a 10-month position working under the Exhibition Registrars. Callan intends to pursue a career as a Museum Registrar.
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Students who register for and attend this panel will be awarded ten raffle tickets for Jingle Bowl, which takes place the following Friday, December 12.
RSVP to let us know you're coming!
Open to all members of the Oberlin campus community
