BELLINGHAM, WA.- Whatcom Museum Executive Director Patricia Leach announced she will retire March 31, 2025. She has been at the helm of the museum for the past 17 years and has enjoyed a 42-year career at the executive director level. Ms. Leach came to the Whatcom Museum in late 2007 after serving as CEO of The Hermitage, the 1,100-acre property and home of President Andrew Jackson in Nashville, TN. Before that, she was the executive director at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, CA.
“I cannot believe it has been more than 17 years at the Whatcom,” said Leach. "There always seemed to be a new challenge or opportunity, and I have enjoyed immensely working with such a stellar group of professionals and trustees who all share the same vision for this amazing institution.”
Ms. Leach oversaw several transformative changes during her tenure at the Whatcom Museum. Chief among them was the 2009 opening of the Lightcatcher building, a LEED-certified silver structure that features art galleries, the children’s Family Interactive Gallery, and storage vaults that house the museum’s extensive and growing art, history, natural history, and Indigenous cultural collections. The opening of the Lightcatcher allowed Ms. Leach and her team to develop new revenue streams for the Whatcom Museum Foundation and created avenues for a new membership campaign, admission structure, and targeted fundraising that significantly reduced the museum’s dependency on the City of Bellingham’s general fund. Today, the Whatcom Museum Foundation funds all the museum’s exhibitions and programs, many of which have helped raise the museum to national prominence.
During her tenure, Ms. Leach forged a strong, long-term relationship with the Smithsonian Institution by establishing Whatcom Museum’s status as a Smithsonian Affiliate, which opened the doors to new partnerships. Additionally, Ms. Leach successfully oversaw efforts to have the Whatcom Museum reaccredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2018 and has also served on that organization’s Accreditation Committee for several years. The Whatcom Museum is one of only 1,113 accredited museums (out of 33,000 museums) in the United States.
She has also championed expanding and creating new exhibitions, including the complete restoration of the museum’s oldest exhibition, the John M. Edson Hall of Birds in the Old City Hall building. Most notably, Ms. Leach also directed 2017’s development and opening of the People of the Sea and Cedar gallery in the Lightcatcher building with the assistance of Lummi Nation Cultural Department members Al Scott Johnnie, Matt Warbus, and the late hereditary Chief Bill James.
The People of the Sea and Cedar gallery was recently updated thanks to funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and reopened in February of this year. Ms. Leach was able to expand the Indigenous Advisory Committee to consist of both Lummi and Nooksack Tribal members and elders, who were instrumental in having the exhibition narrations speak in their voice. The reinterpreted exhibition also includes contemporary artwork and highlights current cultural and environmental issues. She credits museum board member Teresa Taylor, who is a member of the Lummi Nation, with much advice and help in the museum’s endeavors. The committee will remain intact and will continue to advise the museum on a variety of projects.
“Leading the Whatcom Museum on this evolving journey has been so rewarding, and it has been an honor to work with such a dedicated group of Indigenous advisors and professional staff members. I am proud of our progress toward removing colonizing practices found in all our nation’s museums and our strong effort to be so much more inclusive and diverse. This work is truly a team effort and will continue into the future,” said Leach.
A search for a new museum director will begin soon.
