Katherine Gass, curator for Jumeirah Essex House and creator of the hotel's art program, is President of James Company Contemporary Art Projects LLC, a curatorial and collection management company with a focus on education and community building through the arts.

Clients include corporations, international banks, pharmaceutical companies and luxury hotels. She is a member of the International Association of Professional Art Advisors (IAPAA), the National Organization of Women Owned Businesses (NAWBO), and Art Table, the national organization for professional women in positions of leadership in the arts.

She serves on the board of Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture and is a founding board member of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, a program that promotes social activism among teenage girls.

Prior to launching James Company, Ms. Gass held posts at The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Chase Manhattan Bank Art Collection, Curt Marcus Gallery, New York City, and The Aldrich Museum of Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut.

She is a cum laude alumna of Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in painting and art history, and earned her M.A. in the History of American Art Education and Arts Advocacy from New York University.