Gretchen Kodanaz

Gretchen Kodanaz is an arts professional at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a graduate student at New York University. She serves as an administrator in the Director’s Office working with senior executive staff to coordinate and implement museum administration and initiatives. Since losing her father unexpectedly at an early age, she also works closely with her mother on grief support projects and publications to help those grieving the loss of loved ones or other personal tragedies. Having no solid memories of her father, Gretchen is uniquely qualified to address issues pertaining to younger children and preserving the legacy of a loved one over many years.

Articles:

Fatherly Influence: Transcending Biology and Time

The first time my adoptive father, Taner, tried to teach me a lesson was over green peppers that had formed a pile on the side of my plate. I was five years old with classically frustrating picky-eater syndrome, and I didn’t want those peppers. But being the new father figure in the previously single-parent household, Taner was proving a point: I was not leaving the table until I finished everything on my plate. Until that point, having a consistent and authoritative male figure in the house was a foreign concept to me. My biological father Rodney had unexpectedly passed two […]

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