Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Newport Art Museum Announces New Director of Advancement
September 16,
2026 by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly 
Newport Art Museum announced today that Emily Manocchio, an accomplished development professional with extensive experience in donor relations, stakeholder engagement, and nonprofit leadership, will join the Museum as its new Director of Advancement, effective Sept 14.
In this role, Manocchio will lead the Museum's fundraising and philanthropic strategy, partnering with Executive Director Harry Philbrick, the Board of Trustees, and the Museum’s generous community of supporters to advance the organization’s mission.
"Emily brings exactly the kind of relationship-driven leadership upon which our advancement program is built," said Harry Philbrick, executive director of the Newport Art Museum. "Her track record of building trust with donors and meaningfully engaging community partners here in Newport is outstanding. I'm delighted she will bring her professionalism, energy, and strategic thinking to the Museum. We're thrilled to welcome her to the team."
Manocchio joins the Newport Art Museum from Newport Hospital, where she most recently served as interim philanthropy director as part of the Brown University Health system. In that role, she partnered with hospital leadership, physicians, and the board of trustees to advance strategic priorities and led coordination of a $2.6 million campaign that brought Rhode Island's first da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system to the community.
Manocchio previously spent nearly four years as senior donor relations officer at Newport Hospital, where she built and managed a personalized donor engagement program, led stewardship communications and events, and worked closely with hospital trustees and volunteer committees to advance philanthropic goals.
"I’m thrilled to build on the momentum already underway and help usher the Newport Art Museum into its next chapter," Manocchio said. "I look forward to building meaningful relationships with our supporters and growing the philanthropic support that will help the Museum continue to thrive. It’s an honor to be joining such an important Newport institution at such an exciting time.
Earlier in her career, Manocchio spent more than a decade at Newport Hospitality, Inc., a destination management and event planning company, rising from sales and program coordinator to director of event operations. In that capacity, she provided strategic leadership and operational oversight for 60 to 70 large-scale corporate events annually, managed a team of direct reports, and cultivated a broad network of vendor and client relationships throughout Rhode Island.
Manocchio holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Rhode Island, in Public Relations and in Communications.