Love, Kudos, Remembrance is an occasional series profiling people from the Main Line who stumble into grand loves, stand out to their neighbors and whose memories remain after they’re gone.

By the time Judy Herman arrived at the Main Line Art Center in the late eighties, she already knew something critical about herself: Being a big fish in a small pond fit better than being a floundering fish in an enormous ocean.

Before landing the title as executive director of the then quiet and small suburban art center, Herman worked in major cities such as Boston, Washington D.C., and the nearby Philadelphia. From the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art to the Smithsonian and Franklin Institute, Herman worked at big places with household names.

In contrast, in 1988 when Herman began as executive director of the Main Line Art Center, board members helped do household repairs in the homey yet aging white house. With only two full-time staff members including Herman, the occasional custodial staff fixed leaks and cleaned toilets – and so did Herman.

“It was a very small operation,” said Herman, who will retire in August after 24 years with the Main Line Art Center. “When I first started, the number of classes we offered in a year is the number we offer now in a day.”

“Here, you could see the immediate effects,” she said. “I wasn’t ready to lead a large institution, so I chose a small one.”

Herman transformed the Main Line community’s perception of the art center as well as the region’s. Gone are the days of a two-person staff. There are now 10 staff members at the nonprofit. Since Herman’s arrival, the budget for the area’s artistic staple grew from around $200,000 to $1.3 million. In 1999, she oversaw a $1.85 million renovation of the remodeled home on Panmure Road.

Before she leaves her post, she’ll help plan for updated improvements to the building using a $600,000 state grant through the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. From adding windows to enlarging rooms, the capital improvements will take place in 2013 and prepare the art center for the future.

Throughout the transformation of the art center, Herman grew too. Admitting she isn’t always the best listener, Herman began to take advice from board members and learn from other institutions. Eventually, the Main Line Art Center got its own recognition.

“Philadelphia is a really rich artistic community, and it has been very important to see the suburbs become integral to that,” Herman said.

The public art exhibit “Points of Departure: Art on the Line,” in which pieces of art graced SEPTA and Amtrak’s tracks along the Paoli-Thorndale line, got national attention. Herman also tailored a public-art project seen in Chicago to the Main Line.

In Chicago, artists placed fiberglass-painted cows around the city.

But instead of cows, dogs scattered the Main Line. Called “Puttin’ on the Dog,” the project remains one of Herman’s shining accomplishments.

In preparation for the art center’s 75th anniversary celebration, Herman continues to comb through its history as well as her own.

“I realized in putting some words to paper the other day that I have loved my career,” she said. “The most satisfying part of my job is that so many lives have been transformed. You see people come back who went here as kids, and the community understands that arts make for lifelong learning and can really balance a person.”

Also, Herman’s partner, a retired lawyer, showed her that retirement doesn’t mean the end of anything.

“By watching how well he does retirement, I know that it’s time for me not to be in charge of the art center anymore,” Herman said, adding that as he teaches ESL classes, he’s far from a retired couch potato. “Perhaps I should be in charge of my own life, and my life with him, my children and my grandchildren.”

One thing’s for sure: When Herman retires she’ll still be a familiar face at the Main Line Art Center where she’ll take classes as a student.

“I really did start all this out because I loved to be creative,” said the former jewelry-maker. “It’s really important for people to understand that the arts can make a difference in your life. To not explore your creative side, whether you’re a lawyer or a doctor – it’s missing a part of who you are.”

The Main Line Art Center will celebrate Executive Director Judy Herman’s accomplishments at a Spring Soiree on April 14 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. that will include performances and a silent auction. Tickets are $75.