Zella Jackson Hannum, PhD, has built a distinguished career in fine art and new technology ventures. She founded Gallery Zella in 2016 and is the business development and artist brand manager, leveraging her worldwide fine art business development expertise. She is also the owner and founder of Novasearch Consultants & Publishing, a firm she established in 1983 where she has played a pivotal role in commercializing technology across the United States and Mexico.
Dr. Hannum’s professional experience also includes leadership roles across multiple industries in engineering, business and art. From 2013 to 2014, she was director of the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Institute at Ferris State University following her role as a mechanical engineering technology instructor at the same institution beginning in 2012. She conducted research of first-time manufacturing process design from 2007 to 2012 at Western Michigan University. In addition, she conducted tech-based entrepreneurship field research for the North American Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education Initiative from 2008 to 2009.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Hannum held contract management positions for years in the fine arts sector. She was the manager of business development at Southwind Art Gallery in Topeka, Kansas; Chuck Jones Galleries at five locations in California and Nevada; Martin Lawrence Galleries, Inc., in 13 locations, including in Hawaii, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, Louisiana, and California; The Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas; manager of content and e-learning at Gallery Row in Nevada, California, and The Netherlands; manager of business development at Sopel Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Merrill Chase Galleries at four locations in Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, and New York; as well as executive director of The Fine Art Network in Honolulu, Hawaii, business development manager for Lahaina Galleries in Lahaina on the island of Maui, and marketing and sales manager for Images International in Honolulu, Hawaii – with these last three multiple-year contracts managed in tandem.
Dedicated to pursuing higher education throughout her career, Dr. Hannum holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, a Master of Business Administration in production control and manufacturing process design, and a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University, where she became the first woman and the first African American to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering. Additionally, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy in industrial and manufacturing engineering from Western Michigan University in 2012, making history as the first woman and the first African American to achieve this distinction at the institution. Dr. Hannum’s early academic achievements laid the foundation for her early success as a systems operations manager at IBM, where she led a team of 40 systems analysts and managed a multimillion-dollar budget before age 30. She was the first woman, the first African American, and the youngest person to be promoted to that position at IBM in 1980. Her later academic achievements and field research paved the way for her groundbreaking sixth book titled “New Technology Venture Balanced Scorecard: Derived from Product Quality Factors,” designed for engineers and technology managers who launch advanced technologies.
Dr. Hannum’s professional contributions extend beyond her primary roles. She is a world traveler, and, as a new tech venture and fine art business developer, has logged more than 2 million aeronautical miles. She has been a featured speaker at new tech venture conferences and fine art tradeshows, including the Institute of Industrial Engineers Annual Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, the National Consortium of Inventors and Innovators Alliance in San Francisco, California, as well as Artexpo© New York in New York City, the Messe Frankfurt Show in Germany, the This Art Fair in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and in honor of Thomas Kinkade in California. Dr. Hannum is the bestselling author of “The Art of Selling Art,” which has sold more than 50,000 copies. She also authored “The Art of Creating Collectors”, “The Gallery Management Manual”, and “The Art of Being an Entrepreneurial Woman”. Further, she co-authored “Artists in Hawaii”. Three of her original screenplays have been produced including editions I and II of “The Art of Marketing and Selling Art” and “The Art of Selling Thomas Kinkade’s Art”. This latter film was produced by Lighthouse Publishing to video train its 5,000 licensed Kinkade dealers worldwide.
As a recognized expert, Dr. Hannum provided expert testimony at federal and state level court trials and depositions from1997 to 2004. She authored more than100 published articles, including “Economic Impact of the Visual Arts,” published in Art World News in 2014 and hosted the International Art Business Symposium at ArtPrize the previous year. In her free time, she supports civic initiatives, including a scholarship fund for high-achieving high school students through Gallery Zella’s art auction in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Bryson City.
Among her career highlights, earning a doctorate in industrial and manufacturing engineering as a nontraditional student while raising twins remains one of Dr. Hannum’s proudest achievements. Navigating a male-dominated field presented challenges, but she found the journey deeply rewarding. She takes pride in publishing research that offers a fresh perspective beyond conventional academic viewpoints that reflect her frontline experiences. She also relishes her positive influence on aspiring women in engineering, business and art. She is featured in the educational role model film “Sandra, Zella, Dee and Clare: Four Women in Science” and in the two books, “Create Work You Love” and “I’m Madly in Love with Electricity.” Dr. Hannum guest lectured at numerous “Women and Minorities in Math and Science” programs at colleges and universities throughout the country, including Purdue University, University of California, University of Dayton, Mills College, California State University, and College of Notre Dame, among others.
In light of her impressive undertakings, Dr. Hannum has been honored with the National Science Foundation Professoriate Award, multiple National Science Foundation Scholarships and the Career Woman of the Year Award from the State of Hawaii. She attributes her success to her intellect, talent and the influence of high-minded individuals who have inspired her to continue achieving. Looking to the future, as an avid photographer and painter, Dr. Hannum plans to open Studio Zella to showcase emerging artists while collaborating with the arts community. Her vision includes producing an arts festival to fund a perpetual scholarship endowment for meritorious students in her home town.
Dr. Hannum’s passion about the importance of education stems from growing up in a working-poor family in Detroit, Michigan, enveloped in a crime ridden neighborhood, yet higher education proved pivotal in her own life. She graduated valedictorian of her junior high school class and earned admittance into Cass Technical High School, a magnet school for gifted students. The school’s academic rigor challenged and prepared her for the successful completion of her four advanced degrees. Moreover, she taught college-level courses as a guest lecturer and adjunct instructor for more than 50 years. San Francisco State University, Hawaii Pacific University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, and Fresno State University are among the institutions she led courses in thermodynamics, heat transfer, manufacturing process design, business communication, business management, and marketing. Often, she was the first woman and first African American to teach these courses. In so doing, Dr. Hannum served as a beacon of inspiration for underprivileged minorities as well as women of engineering, business and art.
While Dr. Hannum grew up in the Midwest, she has lived on both coasts, spent 15 years on the Hawaiian Islands, visited 30 states, including Alaska, and more than a dozen foreign countries. She is the proud wife of an “extraordinary” man, mother of three “exceptional” children and two “amazing” stepchildren.