She sounds like someone who was born for this job. Congratulations to her and to the museum! On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 8:52 PM, Mark Twain Forum List Administrator < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > The Mark Twain House & Museum Appoints Dr. Cindy Lovell as its New > Executive > Director > > HARTFORD, January 11, 2013 -- Gregory Boyko, President of the Board of > Trustees of The Mark Twain House & Museum, announced today the appointment > of Dr. Cindy Lovell as the museum's Executive Director. Lovell is currently > Executive Director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, > Missouri. > > Lovell was chosen after a six-month national search, with a Search > Committee > of the Board of Trustees considering nearly 50 applicants for the position. > The museum was aided in its efforts by PBR Executive Search, a New > York-based firm, and the position was advertised in museum publications > nationwide. > > "We are delighted to have been able to find someone with Dr. Lovell's > unique combination of strengths," said Boyko. "She has a strong track > record > in fundraising, proven leadership, passion, energy -- and most important, > she has a deep devotion to Mark Twain. We look forward to working with her > to create a greater presence for The Mark Twain House & Museum by building > on Mark Twain as an international icon through an increased focus on > writing > and literature." > > "To have served in Hannibal and now in Hartford at the two homes where Sam > Clemens resided the longest is the highest honor I could know," Lovell > said. > "I'm excited and eager to continue the collaboration between the two homes > in our shared vision of preserving Mark Twain's legacy." > > Lovell succeeds Jeffrey L. Nichols, who left the museum in July to take a > position as President and CEO of Poplar Forest, a historic home owned by > Thomas Jefferson in Lynchburg, Virginia. > > She will begin her new position on March 4. Interim Executive Director > Patti > Philippon, the museum's Beatrice Fox Auerbach Chief Curator, will continue > to direct the museum until that date. > > "I want to thank Patti for her stalwart efforts in keeping the museum going > over the past months, during an extremely busy period, and in continuing to > maintain the quality of our exhibitions and preservation efforts," said > Boyko. > > Dr. Cindy Lovell has served as Executive Director of the Mark Twain Boyhood > Home & Museum since 2008. She is also a tenured associate professor of > education at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. > > Lovell grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania where she first fell in love with > Twain's writing at the age of ten. A non-traditional student, she began > college at the age of 35. She holds a B.A. in elementary education and an > M.A. in education, both from Stetson University in Florida. She earned a > Ph.D in education from The University of Iowa, with concentrations in > gifted > education and English as a new language. She taught elementary school in > Florida where she earned tenure, then taught at her alma mater, Stetson > University, where she also earned tenure before moving to Hannibal. > > In Hannibal she has directed the Mark Twain Young Authors workshop, taught > numerous writing workshops for adults, and co-directed the Mark Twain > Teacher Workshops with museum Curator Henry Sweets. She has also presented > keynotes and educator workshops at various Big Read events around the > country for communities reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. > > A lover of children's literature, Lovell has authored two children's > novels, > Rachel Mason Hears the Sound and Not This Sunday. She co-authored Down the > Mississippi: A Modern-day Huck on America's River Road with CNN iReporter > Neal Moore, and is a contributor to The Huffington Post. Lovell has > authored dozens of articles, textbook chapters, and essays. > > Lovell's best known project is Mark Twain: Words & Music, a double CD > telling the story of Mark Twain's life in spoken word and song. She > conceived the idea as a tribute to Twain to acknowledge the 100th > anniversary of his death in 2010. The CD features Clint Eastwood as Twain, > Jimmy Buffett as Huck Finn, and Garrison Keillor as the narrator and > includes songs by Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, > Ricky Skaggs and others. It was released in 2011 as a benefit for the Mark > Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. Lovell wrote the narrative and served as > co-executive producer with Carl Jackson, a Grammy award-winning musician. > > At Quincy University Lovell has taught ethics in education, children's > literature, educational psychology, foundations of education, and two > first-year experience courses -- one on Twain, and one, Prison Nation, > which > focuses on the prison crisis in America. At Quincy she also serves as > counselor for Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society for > educators. > > Lovell serves on various boards and committees and has been recognized for > her work in the community. She received the Hannibal NAACP Martin Luther > King, Jr. Award in 2010. Under her leadership, the Museum received the > Missouri Governor's 2010 Humanities Award for Exemplary Community > Achievement and the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce 2011 Civic > Contributor > Award. Lovell also received the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce 2012 > Community Betterment Award and the 2012 Missouri Governor's Ambassador > Award. > > Lovell collaborated with her colleagues at The Mark Twain House & Museum > and > other Twain sites for the successful passage of the Mark Twain > Commemorative > Coin Act, which benefits four major Twain institutions and was signed into > law by President Obama in December 2012. > -- Terry Ballard Author and Leisure Studies Manager http://www.terryballard.org Author of the book "Google this" http://googlethisforlibraries.com "My memory has a mind of its own."