President & CEO, Historic Museum & Village

Historic Deerfield, a nationally recognized, AAM-accredited museum and historic village in Deerfield, Massachusetts, seeks a thoughtful, dynamic, and mission-driven leader to serve as its next President and Chief Executive Officer. Stewarding one of the best-preserved villages and rural landscapes in North America, Historic Deerfield offers immersive encounters with the people, places, objects, buildings, and stories that have shaped New England and the United States.

The next President and CEO will build on Historic Deerfield’s strong foundation, advancing its mission, expanding its reach, strengthening its national profile, and guiding the organization through its next phase of growth and impact.

About Historic Deerfield Historic Deerfield is a cultural nonprofit that stewards one of the best-preserved historic villages and rural landscapes in North America, with a mission centered on understanding and interpreting American history and culture through its built environment, collections, scholarship, and programs. Set in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, the site encompasses more than 50 historic structures and more than 100 acres along a mile-long streetscape that still follows its original 1671 plan.

The village retains an extraordinary degree of integrity, with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses situated on their original lots and restored with careful attention to architectural detail, including historically accurate paint palettes that reflect the vibrant colors of the period.

Historic Deerfield was incorporated in 1952 to sustain the work of collectors and preservationists Henry and Helen Flynt, who began acquiring and restoring the historic houses in the 1930s. Through a careful and sustained effort, the Flynts preserved the architectural and cultural fabric of the village, establishing the foundation for what has become a nationally recognized museum and historic site.

At the heart of Historic Deerfield are twelve historic houses, the The Henry N. Flynt Library, and the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, which display and interpret a collection of more than 55,000 objects spanning the seventeenth through twentieth centuries. These include furniture, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, paintings, books, manuscripts, and other forms of material culture widely regarded as among the finest in the field.

A defining strength of Historic Deerfield is the extent to which these collections are experienced in context, within the historic buildings and landscapes for which many were created or used.

Together, the village creates a setting that functions as a living laboratory, offering insight into Indigenous histories, colonial settlement, evolving New England communities, and the changing social and cultural life of the region over time. Historic Deerfield is widely recognized for its scholarly contributions and educational programs, including exhibitions, symposia, lectures, publications, and its Summer Fellowship Program, which has long served as a training ground for emerging scholars, decorative arts and museum professionals.

The organization also collaborates with the Five Colleges consortium and other academic partners across the region.

At the same time, Historic Deerfield serves a broad public audience through exhibitions, guided and self-guided tours, and more than 75 annual programs. In recent years, the institution has expanded its interpretive framework to include a wider range of voices and perspectives, including the installation of “Witness Stones” commemorating enslaved individuals who lived in Deerfield, and new offerings around the roles of women in the vibrant Arts & Crafts community that emerged in the late 1800s.

These efforts reflect an ongoing commitment to exploring the experiences of Indigenous communities, enslaved and free African Americans, women, immigrants, and others whose stories are integral to the region’s history.

The organization operates with approximately 48 full-time and more than 100 part-time staff, supported by a dedicated corps of volunteers. Its activities extend across the village and include the Deerfield Inn, a museum…