A longtime executive director is leaving the Westmoreland County Historical Society’s top post and will be replaced by an experienced leader in nonprofits.
Meanwhile, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art has a new fundraiser and external affairs representative.
The historical society will have a change in leadership for the first time in 20 years. Lisa Hays is winding down her tenure with Friday as her last full-time workday.
Angela Jackson, 45, of Latrobe takes the reins after having been the executive director of the United Way of Indiana County, where she also served as the marketing director.
Jackson has more than 20 years of experience in various capacities in the non-profit sector and has experience as a real estate agent specializing in commercial and community development.
“I’m really excited for the things to come for Hanna’s Town and the historical society and looking forward to seeing what the board, the volunteers, the county, the staff, and the community can do together,” said Jackson, a Derry area native.
“My (four) kids and I have always enjoyed all the county parks that Westmoreland has to offer, spending much of our summertime outdoors and enjoying the activities available to us,” Jackson said.
Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in public administration.
The historical society started looking for Hays’ successor last year. She said her retirement has been in the planning stage since August.
During Hays’ tenure, the historical society had moved its offices three times. It occupied a floor in the Stark Building on West Otterman Street in downtown Greensburg, before moving to a smaller space in a building along Beatty Crossroads in Unity. The historical society moved into its current home in Hanna’s Town, a spacious new building, in 2019.
“Being out here certainly suits the historical nature of the organization. We’ve progressed in recreating a historic village,” Hays said.
This year, the historical society is rebuilding a log house that had been abandoned in a corner of the county-owned property, which will create more programming space, Hays said.
Westmoreland museum change
At the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Annie Urban, a longtime fixture in management, fundraising and marketing in the area’s nonprofit community, has been hired as the museum’s deputy director for development and external affairs.
Urban said she looks forward to working at the museum that has a “mission of offering meaningful and engaging cultural experiences that build community and inspire creatively,” Urban said.
“I look forward to working collaboratively with the talented staff to lead strategic fundraising and external affairs initiatives that will ensure a vibrant, sustainable future for the museum,” Urban said.
She comes to the museum from a position as executive director of principal gifts and community engagement at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, her alma mater.
Urban previously was the executive director of Fort Ligonier Museum in Ligonier from 2013 to 2019 and was executive director of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau. Urban is president of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. and formerly president of the YWCA of Westmoreland Board of Directors.
Urban is active in the community, serving as the president of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. and is on the advisory board of the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County.
”Her wealth of experience and deep understanding of development and external affairs will be instrumental in shaping the future of our organization and advancing our strategic priorities of strengthening operational sustainability and building the museum’s audience,” said Silvia Filippini-Fantoni, the museum’s Richard M. Scaife director and chief executive officer.