The Philadelphia Art Museum’s overly “woke” CEO has been fired by the museum’s board over her obsession with so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion, also known as DEI.
Former CEO Sasha Suda received an email Tuesday morning from the board announcing that she was being fired for “cause” but also wishing her “every success” in the future, according to Philadelphia magazine.
The museum later acknowledged her termination in a statement.
“As of today, director and CEO Sasha Suda is no longer with the Philadelphia Art Museum,” the statement reads. “At this time, Louis Marchesano, deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, will lead day-to-day operations at the museum while we identify an interim director and CEO.”
“As this is an internal matter, we are limited in what we can say. The board of trustees is focused on fulfilling the museum’s mission as we enter our 150th year. We are not providing further comment at this time,” the statement continues.
Sasha Suda, the director and CEO of the newly rebranded Philadelphia Art Museum, was dismissed on Tuesday. Suda was told of her dismissal via an email that stated she was being terminated for “cause,” though the email reportedly did not explicitly outline what that cause was.… pic.twitter.com/rT5F775pJi
— ARTnews (@artnews) November 4, 2025
The termination didn’t necessarily come as a surprise given that, according to The Philadelphia Citizen, “some longtime board members” had been unhappy with Suda “for focusing — too much, they say — on inclusion, for what they consider a narrow focus when it comes to exhibitions, and for a slow start to fundraising.”
Suda had been trying to revamp things at the museum since her arrival in 2022, and from the sounds of it, she was particularly obsessed with black culture — which, for some reason, is common among white leftists.
“This year, Suda debuted The Time is Always Now, an exhibition featuring contemporary African American artists, and launched the Brind Center for African and African Diaspora Art,” according to the Philly mag.
It was wonderful to be at @philamuseum and celebrate the unveiling of the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art, created by trustee Ira Brind and his wife, Stacey Spector.
I want to thank Director Sasha Suda and Museum of Art Trustees Osagie Imasogie and Martha… pic.twitter.com/dGOa2XDgie
— Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (@PhillyMayor) May 15, 2025
According to the Citizen, Suda also pursued “an equity agenda” that included goals such as “40 percent of employees from diverse backgrounds by 2025; 35 percent supplier diversity by 2025; $5 million raised for African American art by 2025.”
She also butted heads with unions.
The museum’s union, “over the last few years, has complained that Suda’s management team has not honored all of the aspects of the collective bargaining agreement negotiated under her predecessor,” the Citizen notes.
And she engineered the rebranding of the museum from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the Philadelphia Art Museum, which reportedly upset the museum’s trustees.
“[S]ome trustees voiced concerns about negative public reaction to the museum’s renaming and rebranding and the way the rebrand was rolled out last month, without a final nod from the board,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The rebrand of The Philadelphia Museum of Art was a fail and they just fired their art director a month later pic.twitter.com/Kz8IUijKYQ
— A. (@cakescash_) November 4, 2025
“We are an amazing museum with an amazing collection, amazing curators, and an amazing experience, and it’s really a shame, the jokes and negative reaction to the rebranding,” trustee Yoram (Jerry) Wind reportedly said.
“Basically, the board never approved it. We had expected to see it after the board gave feedback, and expected to see the final version so we could approve it or at least see what they were planning to do. And it was launched, so we were as surprised as everyone else,” he added.
Museum trustee Jennifer Rice also complained, saying that “if I have a criticism, I think the board should have been told when the launch was happening.”
“I think there was an opportunity to let the board know, ‘On Oct. 8 we’re doing this rollout,'” she added.
Suda is reportedly a Canadian citizen with a U.S. work visa, and now that she’s out of a job, she may have to return home soon.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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