TRACY VARLEY

Tracy  is currently a Senior Vice President at Marsh Inc. where she leads operations for the U.S. Central region, which is comprised of 18 offices throughout the Midwest and South Central US.  Prior to moving to Chicago in 2007, Tracy spent 7 years as Director and Curator at Mad Art Gallery, an award-winning gallery and event space in St. Louis (housed in a renovated, circa 1930s police station) dedicated to the arts and expanding art’s reach into the community at large. During that time, she worked to build strategic partnerships with key community/arts-based organizations, curating, creating and promoting exhibitions and cultural programs as well as providing opportunities for new and established artists to collaborate and exhibit their work. Uniquely, the gallery received no commission from its hundreds of exhibitions, as it was solely supported by private funding and events. Along with her role at Mad Art, Tracy chaired the Glass Art Society’s 36th International Conference in St Louis; co-founded MadARF, a 3-year, art auction project benefiting Stray Rescue of St Louis; and has since worked on numerous projects promoting jazz, theater, cinema and children’s art programs in and around the St. Louis area.  In addition to a 2-year study at the Sorbonne, Tracy graduated from Bradley University with a B.A. in French and a B.S. in International Business.  For the past 5 years, Tracy has also been engaged in U.S. operations and brand development for renown Italian designer and curator, Maria Calderara.