Museum Executive Director, Bellingham, Whatcom Museum

Overview

The Whatcom Museum Executive Director (Executive Director), serving also as the Chief Executive Officer for the Whatcom Museum Foundation’s Board of Trustees, will provide strategic leadership in planning, organizing, and directing all operations and activities of the Whatcom Museum (the Museum). In coordination with other City departments and the Foundation Board, the Executive Director will be responsible for overseeing the Museum’s financial health and sustainability;

managing physical facilities and assets; ensuring effective and secure use of data systems; and developing and maintaining an effective workforce and culture of organizational excellence. The Executive Director will be a member of the City’s leadership team, collaborating with the Mayor of Bellingham and other City departments to align strategy, policy, and shared operations with the City’s critical objectives, vision, and values, ensuring the Museum is a vital cultural and educational resource for the community.

The Executive Director will work independently, with general guidance from the Whatcom Museum Foundation’s Board of Trustees, to ensure proper prioritization of institutional goals to maximize the effectiveness of the museum’s operations for the good of the community, in alignment with broader goals as set forth by the City of Bellingham Mayor and City Council.

The Whatcom Museum Executive Director will be responsible for shaping the Museum’s vision, enhancing its role in the community, and overseeing strategic planning and all day-to-day operations of the multi-facility campus. The Whatcom Museum Executive Director is an employee of the Whatcom Museum Foundation, reporting to the Whatcom Museum Foundation’s Board of Directors, and is the Chief Executive Officer for the Whatcom Museum Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

The Executive Director’s leadership team includes the chief curator and director of exhibitions, the controller, the development director, the director of collections & operations, and the director of marketing & public relations. Additional employees include docents, interns, part-time visitor attendants, story associates, and Family Interactive Gallery associates. Of the team of 25 total employees, four are City employees, while the remainder are employees of the Whatcom Museum Foundation.

The Whatcom Museum Foundation is currently bargaining its first union contract with Teamsters local 231.

Organization

The Whatcom Museum includes a three-building campus in Bellingham’s growing downtown arts district and houses a collection of more than 250,000 artifacts and artworks of regional and national importance, including a vast photographic archive. Centered around the historic Old City Hall—with its iconic clock tower visible throughout downtown—and the nearby Light catcher building—featuring a spectacular, translucent wall designed to catch sunlight—the Whatcom Museum plays a central and visible role in Bellingham’s vibrant arts and culture scene.

The Museum’s mission is to serve as a bridge among diverse people, ideas, and traditions by fostering curiosity and joy about our world, through exhibitions, events, educational programs, and collections reflective of the art, nature, Indigenous cultures, and history of the Pacific Northwest region and beyond. The Museum is operated by the Whatcom Museum Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Serving the local community as a regional destination, it is accredited nationally by the American Alliance of Museums, is a member of the American Association for State and Local History, and is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate.

The Whatcom Museum Foundation Board of Trustees has 10 to 15 voting members, which includes Mayoral appointees. In addition, a City Council Representative and a Whatcom Museum Tribal Liaison sit on the board as ex-officio members. For the 2025 fiscal year, the Museum projects approximately $1.83 million in revenue, 34% of which is funded through the City of Bellingham and Lodging Tax, and $256,600 from endowment support.

Museum Facilities and Programs

The Museum’s original building is the beloved Old City Hall—the first site in the state of…