Naper Settlement is pleased to announce that Donna Sack, a longtime Naperville resident, has been named Vice President, Community Engagement and Programs. In her new role, she will oversee two departments: Learning Experiences and Museum Services. She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Association of Midwest Museums, where she led an eight-state museum association that provides advocacy, professional development opportunities and encourages best practices for museum professionals, volunteers and board members. Sack previously served as the Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Museums, where she oversaw the transition of the organization from being a state-operated entity into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
“Donna Sack is a respected national leader, who will help Naper Settlement grow as a leading educational and tourism destination by developing new and engaging opportunities for visitors,” President and CEO Rena Tamayo-Calabrese said. “Museums like Naper Settlement are important economic engines for their communities. According to the American Alliance of Museums, 78 percent of all U.S. leisure travelers participate in cultural or heritage activities, such as visiting museums.”
Sack was Naper Settlement’s Director of Visitor Services from 1993 to 2011. While there, she was the Teaching American History Grant Director for a $1 million federally-funded professional development program serving history teachers in five school districts. In 2002, she was the project leader for Naper Settlement’s first national accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums. The programs and exhibits she developed during her tenure at the museum won numerous state and national awards.
She recently was appointed to the Illinois State Museum Board by Governor Bruce Rauner. Sack also serves on the American Association for State and Local History Council. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, she attended the renowned Seminar for Historical Administration, an intensive program for history professionals that examines best practices and ideas of history organization leadership and management.
“I am very excited to be returning to Naper Settlement, an institution with a solid base that is poised to offer the wide breadth of Naperville’s history in a way that will have broad appeal to the local community and to those visiting from afar,” Sack said. “Museums can and do change the world — one person at a time.”
Sack’s first day is Monday, April 4.
About Naper Settlement
Naper Settlement is a nationally accredited, award-winning outdoor museum set on 12 magnificent acres in the heart of Naperville, where history comes to play and community comes to connect. For more information, visit www.napersettlement.org or call (630) 420-6010.
