CONTACT:
Jane S Raunikar
Connecticut River Museum
(860)767.8269 ext. 122
marketing@ctrivermuseum.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Essex, CT – The Connecticut River Museum in Essex, CT appointed Elizabeth D. Kaeser as Executive Director. She will begin December 1, 2022. Kaeser, a Connecticut native, was raised in West Hartford and is a Conard High School graduate.

Kaeser currently serves as the Director of Institutional Giving at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia, PA, where visitors make connections between past and present and encounter questions about equity, justice, and the law. At Eastern State, she oversees a portfolio including membership, government affairs, institutional giving, annual appeals and development operations. She has nearly 20 years of experience at over a dozen museums and nonprofits, working in almost every functional area, including development, operations, strategic planning, historic interpretation, and education. She has a passion for museums that help visitors connect the past to the present through storytelling and dialogue. At the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which uses stories to spark discussion of the vital role immigrants and migrants play in shaping America’s identity, she was a senior educator and one of the longest-tenured museum interpreters. Other cultural institutions where Elizabeth has worked include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Hudson River Museum, and the Merchant’s House Museum. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in history from Vassar College and a Master’s degree in museum studies from New York University.

“We are extremely pleased and grateful that Elizabeth has agreed to take this assignment,” said John Bennet, Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “We are all looking forward to her inspired leadership of our great staff as the Museum approaches its 50th year.” Elizabeth replaces Olivia White, who has been acting as Interim Executive Director since March.

“I find deep resonance with the Connecticut River Museum, a place that tells the stories of how lives have been intertwined with the ebb and flow of this long tidal river for centuries. A historian by training, I look to the past to better understand the world around me today. As the museum looks forward to its 50th year, it is poised to chart a course to make us better stewards of our rivers, so that new river stories will be shared for generations to come,” commented Kaeser.

Kaeser added, “I look forward to returning to my home state of Connecticut and to conversations and collaboration in the years ahead with the patrons and supporters of the museum, the greater Essex community, and all who love the Connecticut River valley.”

The Connecticut River Museum is located on the Essex waterfront at 67 Main Street in Essex and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm. The Museum, housed in the historic Steamboat Dock building, offers exhibits and programs about the history and environment of the Connecticut River. For more information, call 860-767-8269 or go to www.ctrivermuseum.org.

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Photo:

Elizabeth D. Kaeser