The Board of Museum of the Aleutians has chosen a new executive director. After about 45 minutes of close-door deliberations Monday, the board of directors has unanimously chosen Dr. Neal Hitch.
Suzi Golodoff -- chair of the museum's board -- says Hitch stood out from his cover letter.
“He said, and I’ll quote here," Golodoff said. "He says, ‘I have two core beliefs about museums. They should be engaged with and responsive to the needs of their communities and they should be fun.' And I think a lot of us felt such a sense of relief and excitement over that because it’s kind of what we’re looking for.”
And she says he has an amazing set of qualifications.
“He’s really good at stepping into a museum that’s kind of got some challenges or is just getting started or has kind of been on hold and just picking it up and making it shine,” Golodoff said.
In all, Hitch has over 20 years of museum experience. Currently, he serves as the director of the Imperial Valley Desert Museum. A museum in Ocotillo, California that he helped open in 2012 -- that many believed would never open. Prior to that he served as director of the Turks & Caicos National Museum on Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands.
Hiring a new executive director has been a long time coming. The museum has been shuttered -- all but a handful of days -- since the fall. That’s when the board placed former director Zoya Johnson on administrative leave after items from the museum’s collection were found in her home.
Hitch is in the process of negotiating his contract with the museum’s board. But he’s already asked about hiring more staff.
Golodoff says the board hopes to have the museum up and running as soon as possible, but it probably will not be until July or August.
