The Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) in Newport, Rhode Island seeks a dynamic, imaginative, and accomplished leader to serve as its next Executive Director.
The Executive Director will work with the Board and the staff of NRF to provide strategic vision, direction, development, and administrative leadership for an organization that advocates for and invests in the architectural heritage of the Newport community, the traditional building trades, Doris Duke’s fine and decorative arts collections, and critical national preservation issues.
NRF was established in 1968 by the preservationist, philanthropist, and collector Doris Duke, who devoted her resources to the acquisition and restoration of Colonial-era buildings in Newport. Today, NRF owns 78 historic properties, including 70 buildings that are rented as residences. This portfolio represents one of the largest collections of period architecture owned by a single organization anywhere in the United States.
NRF will mark its 50th anniversary in 2018, and since its founding, there has been a dramatic expansion of the scope of its activities. In 1999, NRF inherited Doris Duke’s estate, Rough Point, along with her extensive fine and decorative arts collections, and opened Rough Point as a museum the following year. In addition, NRF operates Whitehorne House Museum, which showcases its collection of 18th-century Rhode Island furniture, and Prescott Farm in Middletown, RI, a 48-acre property to which NRF has moved several historic buildings over the years. In 2016, NRF organized and hosted Keeping History Above Water, one of the first national conferences addressing the threat to America’s architectural heritage from climate change, including sea level rise.
NRF seeks an experienced and strategic leader with an encompassing commitment to the organization’s preservation, advocacy, museums, and education missions. The Executive Director should be an energetic and compelling public advocate, a knowledgeable and sophisticated thought leader, an astute manager of financial and human resources, and an inclusive and accessible partner to the staff and larger community.
Photo via Newport Restoration Foundation.