Mark Twain House Gets New Executive Director

Gregory Boyko, President of the Board of Trustees of The Mark Twain House and Museum, announced today the appointment of Dr. Cindy Lovell as the museum's executive director.

Lovell is executive director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, MO. 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 and 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, VA. 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.