One of Vancouver's newest galleries will ring in the new year under a new director. On January 1, Michael Robinson will become the CEO of the Bill Reid Trust and executive director of the Bill Reid Gallery of Northweast Coast Art, which opened in May, 2008.

Robinson, who was awarded the Order of Canada in 2005, most recently spent eight years as the president and CEO of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary (2000 to 2007). As a volunteer, he chaired the Canadian Polar Commission, the Bow Valley Centre Redevelopment Planning Advisory Committee, and co-chaired the Imagine Calgary process.

He has also worked, as a volunteer, with Friends of the Earth Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, and the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society.

Robinson succeeds George MacDonald, who was named Director Emeritus of the Foundation.