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During the past fourteen years, Mimi Gates led the largest art museum in the Northwest through the creation of its Olympic Sculpture Park (opened January 2007) and the recent expansion of its downtown building (completed May 2007). SAM achieved a high level of artistic excellence and unprecedented levels of accessibility; organized major exhibitions of scholarly and critical acclaim; increased its endowment, attendance and membership; diversified its board, staff and audience; created a conservation department and studio; and added more than 6,500 works of art from a wide variety of cultures to its collection , including a commitment of over 1000 works in 2007 in honor of the museum's 75th anniversary, said to be one of the most important gifts of art to a museum in the history of U.S. philanthropy.