Oysterponds Historical Society director resigns
Oysterponds Historical Society has announced that its executive director, Dr. Elsbeth Linn Dowd, has resigned.
Ms. Dowd, a Huntington Station native, was hired by the historical society in 2016. Prior to that, she worked as a registrar at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History in Norman, Okla. after earning a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Oklahoma.
In 2016, Ms. Dowd told the Suffolk Times that she was looking forward to returning to Long Island with a fresh appreciation for the area’s history. In an emailed announcement, the board announced that Ms. Dowd would be resigning due to familial obligations. “Unsurprisingly, she has found that working at OHS while raising two children under 3 and commuting from Connecticut is not sustainable,” the email states.
As director, Ms. Dowd worked closely with the society’s board of trustees to continue scheduling exhibitions, programs for adults and children and preservation of the collections and buildings.
Ms. Dowd also oversaw the implementation of a new website for the historical society, funded through a grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.
Board trustees indicated that Ms. Dowd plans to work part-time with the organization through December to oversee several projects that are already in motion.
During the transition, former OHS president John Holzapfel has agreed to serve as interim executive director while a national search for a new director is underway.
In the email, the board thanked Ms. Dowd for two years of service and wished her well. “She will be greatly missed,” they said.
