Dear Friends of JCHS, We are sending this special announcement to you this week to inform you that JCHS will have new executive leadership come June 2023. On assuming the role of Executive Director in 2018, I set out to professionalize our museum’s work, strengthen and broaden our relationships, and reimagine our purpose in the community in the broadest possible way. With the launch of our exciting New Jefferson Museum project, it is time for someone new to take JCHS into our next chapter. This was a difficult decision, but this juncture is the right time to make room for new leadership to take the organization towards what I am confident will be an exciting and successful future. I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished together. In these past five years, we have:
- Incrementally grown the organization’s professional capacity, including a new education department and healthcare benefits for museum workers for the first time in the organization’s history
- Renovated and installed new HVAC systems in our collections storage facility to better house over 500,000 objects and archives in perpetuity
- Secured significant funding to preserve one of the oldest historic homes in Port Townsend, the 1868 Rothschild House, with a new coat of exterior paint, a new roof, and new gutters
- Committed our organization to a set of values, an ongoing strategic planning process, new ways of communicating our purpose, and leading through the lens of equity and inclusion
- Expanded the ways in which we deliver our content and resources so that they can have the greatest impact and the broadest level of access, including a robust online collection search and virtual program access with closed captioning
- Negotiated a new 15-year lease with the City of Port Townsend for our home at 1892 Historic City Hall
- Launched the New Jefferson Museum project to reimagine our museum experience
- Perhaps most importantly, deepened new and existing relationships with local governments, tribes, and fellow nonprofit organizations
It has been a wonderful journey, heightened always by the people in our community like you who have come along and given us your support and investment. Through the pandemic and economic uncertainty, JCHS has faced every challenge in collaboration with others—our partnerships have been critical to everything we do. We have a community that truly cares. It is for you that we do this work, and it means so much that you are willing to support JCHS into the future.
The organization is well-positioned for success and there is always more work to do. The New Jefferson Museum project will be a multi-year effort, requiring community and partner input, new strategies and new thinking. Alongside you, the next leader at JCHS will have incredible opportunities to promote continued innovation and foster a community where conversations about change are welcomed with curiosity. I know you will welcome our next leader as you have welcomed me.
Thank you all for giving me the opportunity to lead an organization that I love dearly, and for your trust in our staff and Board through this transition. The Board is forming our search committee and actively planning for succession. I am excited to see where JCHS can go into the future! With deep appreciation, |
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