The New Canaan Nature Center has named a member of its Board of Trustees as interim executive director, officials say.
Mary Emerson. Credit: Michael Dinan
Town resident Mary Emerson is a “seasoned management and fundraising professional” has stepped in voluntarily to help steer the Oenoke Ridge Road nonprofit organization as it pursues a new strategic plan, Board President Linda Andros told NewCanaanite.com.
“She is experienced in high-quality cultural and educational institutions,” Andros said.
A Harvard graduate who completed doctorate-level course studies in art history from New York University, Emerson went on to hold positions at the Met and Frick in New York City, and the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, according to her resumé. More recently, she has served as executive director of the American School of Classical Studies in Princeton, N.J., and part-time as executive director of a nonprofit organization that raises funds for a college in Winchester, England.
According to Andros, Emerson takes the helm at the Nature Center during an important period. The organization has identified four areas on which it’s focused as development of a new strategic plan gets underway, Andros said: expanding its environmental programming, strengthening community partnerships, capital improvement investment and improving stewardship of its land.
Immediate past director Laura Heckman stepped down last month to pursue other opportunities, Andros said.