Keni Sturgeon Selected as New Executive Director
Keni Sturgeon Selected to Lead Museum Beginning November 19
The Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center’s (WVMCC) Board of Directors announced that Keni Sturgeon will become WVMCC’s Executive Director on November 19, 2018. Keni Sturgeon is currently the Vice President of the Pacific Science Center’s Science Engagement and Outreach Division.
Linda Haglund, Vice President of WVMCC’s Board of Directors commented, “On our Day of Discovery, Keni asked thoughtful questions regarding the museum, staff, and community. She will be a great addition to not only our Museum family but also our greater Wenatchee family. We welcome her with open arms and can’t wait to see what the future holds with her leading the way.” President of the board, Don Gurnard, added, “We are very excited for Keni to lead the Museum into the next phase of its history, engaging the community, and working with the great staff.”
Sturgeon said, “It is an honor to be selected to lead the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center. The Museum has a wonderful reputation, its staff is outstanding, and its board is committed and energized. From my visits to Wenatchee since relocating to Washington in 2014, I have seen that the community cares deeply about the Museum and its future. I am excited to get started and to begin working with the staff, board, and community to move the Museum forward together.”
WVMCC’s Curator of Collections, Melanie Wachholder, said, “We are excited for Keni to bring her experience working in regional museums to Wenatchee. We look forward to her helping us grow and improve as a museum and cultural center.” Kasey Koski, Curator of Exhibits, agreed, “I think we are all very much looking forward to working with Keni. Her expertise in the museum field will be appreciated moving forward.”
Sturgeon is an experienced museum administrator with a background that includes more than 15 years of progressively responsible positions in senior and executive management. Prior to her role at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Sturgeon served as the Museum Director and Curator at the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem, Oregon from 2007-2014. Previously she was the Director of Education and Programs at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island from 2005 – 2007 and spent time as the Director of the Jensen Arctic Museum at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon from 2001-2005.
Sturgeon received her master’s degree in cultural anthropology and museum studies, from Arizona State University in 2000, and her B.A. degree in anthropology and archaeology with a minor in history from Sonoma State University in 1994. In 2017 she earned a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the University of Illinois. Since 2008 Sturgeon has served as adjunct professor teaching online museum studies graduate courses for the University of Oklahoma’s masters of arts in museum studies program.
Sturgeon will be making several trips to Wenatchee prior to her expected start date of November 19 as she transitions into her new role.
