President

President

Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

About the Museum

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture is Maryland's largest African American museum and the State's premier institution for documenting, preserving, and interpreting the history, culture, and contributions of Black Marylanders. Located in the heart of Baltimore, the Museum opened in 2005 through a landmark $5 million endowment gift from the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation in honor of Reginald F. Lewis, the Baltimore native who became the first Black American to own a billion-dollar company.

As a Smithsonian Affiliate located in the heart of Baltimore, the Museum serves as a critical cultural, educational, and civic institution that bridges history, scholarship, contemporary dialogue, and community engagement. The Museum currently welcomes approximately 25,000 visitors annually and possesses the strategic capacity to expand its reach to more than 65,000 visitors through enhanced exhibitions, statewide partnerships, educational initiatives, tourism engagement, immersive technology, and broader audience development.

As the institution approaches a pivotal stage of growth and transformation, the Museum seeks a dynamic, visionary, and execution-oriented President capable of strengthening operational infrastructure, expanding philanthropic support, elevating public visibility, modernizing visitor engagement, and positioning the Museum for long-term sustainability and national relevance.

Position Summary

The President serves as the chief executive officer of the Museum and is responsible for the overall strategic, operational, financial, and cultural leadership of the institution. Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, the President provides visionary leadership while ensuring disciplined execution across all areas of the Museum.

The President is expected to lead the Museum through a period of institutional strengthening, financial growth, modernization, and statewide expansion. This executive will serve as the Museum’s primary external ambassador while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and excellence internally.

The successful candidate will possess the ability to align mission, programming, development, operations, community engagement, and long-term financial sustainability into a cohesive institutional strategy capable of supporting the Museum’s growth over the next decade and beyond.

The Museum is a public instrumentality of the State of Maryland and an independent unit in the Executive Branch. As a result, the President is subject to the Maryland Public Ethics Law, including annual financial disclosure filing requirements applicable to all Corporation personnel. Candidates should be prepared to satisfy these requirements as a condition of employment.

Strategic Leadership & Institutional Vision

The President will be responsible for establishing and implementing a comprehensive long-term institutional strategy designed to strengthen the Museum’s impact, visibility, financial position, and public relevance.

Primary strategic priorities include:

• Expanding and diversifying philanthropic revenue streams

• Leading institutional strategic planning efforts

• Strengthening development infrastructure and donor stewardship systems

• Increasing earned revenue opportunities through retail, rentals, tourism, and programming

• Positioning the Museum as a nationally recognized cultural institution

• Expanding statewide and regional engagement throughout Maryland

• Enhancing operational effectiveness and organizational accountability

• Integrating innovative technology into exhibitions and visitor experiences

• Developing sustainable growth strategies aligned with mission and community impact

• Elevating educational programming and audience engagement across multiple demographics

• Completing the Museum's pursuit of American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accreditation

The President must demonstrate the ability to think strategically while also ensuring measurable implementation and execution.

Capital Campaign & Fundraising Leadership

The President will serve as the institution’s lead relationship strategist and principal external fundraiser in partnership with the Development team and Board leadership.

Responsibilities include:
• Leading major fundraising and capital campaign initiatives
• Cultivating transformational philanthropic relationships
• Partnering with development staff to implement annual and long-range fundraising plans
• Expanding relationships with foundations, corporations, individual donors, and government agencies
• Working closely with Board leadership to maximize donor engagement and fundraising participation
• Developing donor pipeline strategies and stewardship systems
• Supporting grant development and institutional funding opportunities
• Establishing fundraising accountability metrics and performance benchmarks
• Participating directly in major gift solicitations and sponsorship cultivation
• Building sustainable long-term philanthropic partnerships aligned with the Museum’s mission

The President must possess strong executive presence, relationship-building capabilities, and demonstrated fundraising success, including exposure to major gifts and capital campaign strategy.

Board Partnership & Governance

The President will work in close partnership with the Board of Directors to advance institutional priorities, strengthen governance, and enhance organizational effectiveness.

Responsibilities include:
• Maintaining strong communication and transparency with the Board
• Supporting strategic Board engagement in fundraising and relationship development
• Collaborating with Board committees and leadership on institutional priorities
• Aligning Board participation with organizational goals and accountability standards
• Assisting with governance planning and strategic initiatives
• Leveraging Board networks to strengthen partnerships, visibility, and philanthropy

The President must recognize the Board as a critical strategic partner in advancing the Museum’s mission and long-term sustainability.

Government Relations & Public Affairs

As a state-supported institution, the President will maintain strong relationships with elected officials, state agencies, civic leaders, and public stakeholders.

Responsibilities include:
• Serving as the Museum’s primary liaison to state and governmental partners
• Advocating for continued public investment and institutional support
• Communicating the Museum’s educational, cultural, and economic impact
• Navigating public funding environments strategically and diplomatically
• Building relationships with statewide and regional leadership
• Aligning institutional priorities with broader cultural, educational, and tourism initiatives

The President should possess the ability to operate effectively within complex public and stakeholder environments.

Regional Expansion & Community Engagement

The President will expand the Museum’s reach and impact beyond Baltimore City through strategic partnerships, statewide programming, and community engagement initiatives.

Responsibilities include:
• Developing strategic partnerships throughout Maryland including Annapolis, Prince George’s County, Baltimore County, the Eastern Shore, and other regions
• Expanding educational and cultural outreach initiatives
• Exploring traveling exhibitions and collaborative programming opportunities
• Strengthening relationships with schools, universities, civic organizations, and community stakeholders
• Enhancing accessibility and audience development across multiple demographics

The President must understand the importance of positioning the Museum as both a Baltimore institution and a statewide cultural asset.

Technology, Innovation & Visitor Experience

The President will lead the modernization of the institution through thoughtful integration of technology, immersive storytelling, and innovative audience engagement strategies.

Responsibilities include:
• Supporting immersive exhibition experiences and digital storytelling
• Expanding virtual and hybrid programming opportunities
• Modernizing operational systems and technological infrastructure
• Exploring technology partnerships and innovation opportunities
• Enhancing visitor engagement through interactive and educational tools
• Aligning technology investments with long-term institutional strategy

The Museum seeks a leader capable of balancing historical preservation with innovation and future-focused engagement.

Financial & Operational Leadership

The President will oversee the Museum’s financial performance, operational infrastructure, and organizational effectiveness.

Responsibilities include:
• Overseeing annual budgets, forecasting, and long-term financial planning
• Ensuring fiscal discipline and operational accountability
• Aligning expenditures with revenue and institutional priorities
• Supporting compliance, reporting, and risk management practices
• Strengthening organizational systems and internal controls
• Driving cross-departmental collaboration and performance accountability
• Recruiting, mentoring, and retaining strong leadership talent

• Ensuring adherence to AAM professional and ethical standards for collections care

The President must foster a high-performing organizational culture rooted in collaboration, professionalism, accountability, and mission alignment.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:
• 7+ years of senior executive leadership experience

• Demonstrated knowledge of African American history and culture
• Demonstrated success in fundraising and external relationship management
• Experience leading complex organizations and multi-stakeholder environments
• Strong strategic planning, financial management, and operational leadership skills
• Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building capabilities
• Proven ability to lead teams, manage change, and drive organizational growth

Preferred Qualifications:
• An advanced degree in a relevant field (arts administration, African American studies, history, public administration, nonprofit management, or related discipline); demonstrated executive experience will be considered in lieu of advanced credentials

• Museum, cultural institution, higher education, nonprofit, or public-sector leadership experience
• Exposure to capital campaign leadership or major fundraising initiatives
• Experience with earned revenue strategies, retail, hospitality, or public programming
• Familiarity with digital innovation and immersive audience engagement
• Knowledge of Maryland’s civic, philanthropic, and cultural landscape

• Experience operating with government entities, including familiarity with State appropriations processes, public ethics compliance, and public accountability frameworks

Compensation

• Base Salary Range: $220,000 – $250,000
• Comprehensive Maryland State Employee benefits package included
• Performance-based incentives may be considered

Compensation is competitive and aligned with the scale, complexity, and strategic priorities of the organization while supporting the recruitment of a high-impact, mission-driven executive leader.

Equal Opportunity

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is an equal opportunity employer. The Museum does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable State or federal law. We are committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve.