Director resigns, board president fills in
The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History board of directors is launching an executive search.
The board of directors of a popular Pacific Grove museum is launching an executive search following the resignation of its executive director.
Tama Olver, the president of the board of directors of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, said in a news release that former executive director Jeanette Kihs resigned and that Olver will be taking over duties as an interim executive director.
No reason for Kihs departure was provided and Kihs herself was traveling and unable to be reached for comment. Olver said an extensive, national search has begun, and that such searches typically are completed in four to six months.
Olver said the resignation and search come at a critical time for the museum since it is in the middle of a $2 million capital campaign. The museum is conducting a renovation of much of its physical space.
At the same time, museum staff is creating interactive, virtual programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first of nine phases debuted in August with “The Amazing Adaptations of Birds,” an exhibit Olver said she hopes will serve as an anchor to the visitor experience post- COVID-19.
“We are looking for someone visionary who can not only ensure an educational, contemporary, relevant experience for our visitors, but also continue the transformation we have undertaken,” Olver said.
It’s critical to find someone to keep the museum on its current trajectory — to become “a place from which services flow to the wider community” as well as “a place where people go,” Olver said.
She added that the museum has worked “diligently to remain a community hub for education and enlightenment.” In March, with COVID-19 sheltering-in-place mandates in place, the museum pivoted to more virtual experiences for its audience, launching its “Museum to You” programming.
The program complemented the education of students suddenly learning at home in an alldigital environment, Olver said. In a normal year, museum educators lead field trips for some 10,000 students in Monterey County, half of whom are in underserved communities.
For more than three months, the museum was providing programs through its digital Museum to You program. Kihs, in an interview with The Herald in June, said the museum was gearing up for new major exhibits. The challenges were significant.
For example, prior to the mu
seum’s March 14 closure visitors could wander randomly from room to room. When the museum opens patrons will be directed along a one-way course and the museum will have limits on how many people can be in a room at any given time.
Like other museums and programs that rely in part on revenue generated by visitors, in addition to member and supporter contributions, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History struggled during past months.
The museum’s popular Wildflower Show that normally takes place in April, it’s children’s events in May and the Night Owl fundraiser all needed to be canceled. That lost revenue coupled with the museum’s inability to rent rooms and other facilities for children’s birthday parties, weddings and other events was a financial challenge.
Still, Olver said the museum is ready to take on the challenge and is looking forward to the future.
“Every member of the board has stepped up to offer knowledge, experience and day-to- day guidance in support to the staff,” she said. “We are ‘all hands on deck’ to ensure continuity of operations, delivery of new exhibits, and our ability to reopen, consistent with guidance from the state, when we are able.”
For more information visit pgmuseum.org.