| Effective Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, MOSH announced Maria Hane, president of the Museum, will depart from her role on Aug. 31, 2020. She is resigning to assume full caretaker responsibilities for a member of her immediate family. Bruce Fafard, chief operating officer, will serve as interim CEO. This transition of leadership has been planned for several months. The Board hired Bruce as COO in May 2020, with the intent for his role to expand to include interim CEO responsibilities upon Maria’s departure. Effective immediately, Bruce will oversee the stability and sustainability of the Museum’s mission and collaborate directly with staff, members, visitors and volunteers to ensure an exemplary visitor experience. The Board will launch a national search for MOSH’s next president in 2021. Maria had been leading the MOSH 2.0 campaign: a capital campaign to fund the development of a reimagined visitor experience at MOSH. In her absence, the campaign will continue under the leadership of myself and Jill Davis, Chair of the MOSH 2.0 campaign cabinet — a dynamic group of community leaders, philanthropists and representatives from our Board of Trustees. I want to reassure you that MOSH 2.0’s momentum is continuing with strong leadership and the cabinet continues to cultivate support for the capital campaign. Maria joined the Museum as president in 2009. Under her leadership, the Museum’s community engagement initiatives expanded to reflect the diversity of audiences and histories in Northeast Florida. Highlights of her tenure include enhancing the visitor experience through renovations of every core and permanent exhibit within the Museum; securing a dynamic lineup of traveling exhibits; and leading a multi-year research and community input process culminating in the launch of MOSH 2.0. Maria’s countless contributions to the Museum and the cultural community have played a transformative role in the growth of MOSH over the past 11 years. Her leadership has bolstered the quality of our visitor experience, the value we provide to guests and members, and our vision for what the future of MOSH can deliver. We are grateful for Maria’s leadership, and wish her happiness and success in all her future endeavors. Sincerely, Christian Christian Harden MOSH Board of Trustees Chair |
