Historical Museum announces new Executive Director

A new executive director has been appointed to lead the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Board of Trustees president William Burtness has announced.

Lynn Brittner, former Executive Director of the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum in Ignacio, Colorado, comes to the Historical Museum with more than 25 years of museum management experience. Among her positions prior to assuming the leadership of the Southern Ute Center, Ms. Brittner was registrar and collections manager at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, NM, and curator of collections at the School of American Research, also in Santa Fe.

During her 13 years at the Southern Ute center, Ms. Brittner initiated, sustained and opened a new $38 million, 58,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art museum facility to conserve and promote the history and culture of the Ute people. The award-winning museum also promotes tourism and is an economic resource for the tribe.

“We are delighted that Lynn has agreed to join our Museum team”, said board president Burtness. “We expect that she will bring a fresh perspective and understanding of the challenges faced by cultural institutions such as the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining such a dedicated board and staff at this important community resource,” Brittner said. “These are exciting times for museums that are prepared to re-envision their role as cultural and educational agents, and I look forward to increasing the Historical Museum’s visibility and expanding its services for the entire Santa Barbara community.”

Brittner was chosen following a nationwide search that yielded more than eighty candidates. She will assume her new duties on March 17, replacing Interim Executive Director Warren Miller, a Museum trustee and its treasurer.

About The Museum

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum has a long legacy in our community, and an enduring commitment to its mission. It is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting the material culture of the Santa Barbara region in all its diversity; to educating through lectures, tours, and in the classroom; and to encouraging research, scholarship, and publication of the history of the community with the belief that


history can guide and inspire our actions, a tool with which we can build a better tomorrow. It is that belief which inspires the Museum’s motto, “Building a future worth remembering.”

The Museum’s signature exhibition, The Story of Santa Barbara, traces the evolution of the region from the days of the Chumash into the 21st century. In addition, the Sala Gallery offers magnificent changing exhibitions throughout the year. The institution holds in public trust over 90,000 irreplaceable historic artifacts including paintings, drawings, furniture, saddles, decorative arts, and one of the largest costume collections west of the Mississippi. The Museum’s research facility, The Gledhill Library counts over 5,000 books, 70,000 photographs, as well as maps, newspaper volumes, government documents, private papers, and oral histories among its collections.

The Museum will open Impressions In Ink – Etchings From The Collection on March 20, 2014. Visit the Museum Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 5:00 p.m. and on select First Thursdays. Entrance is complimentary. The Museum is located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, at 136 East De la Guerra Street. For more information contact (805) 966-1601 or www.santabarbaramuseum.com