On January 30, 2008, the Board of
Directors named Acting Executive Director Carol Benson to the post of Executive
Director of Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town & South
County. After serving as Heritage Programs Coordinator since 2005 and Acting
Director since January 1, Carol is excited about future possibilities
for the heritage area.
“Having worked closely with the
Board, the Coordinating Council, and our heritage partners and stakeholders for
the past three years, I value the opportunity to lead this evolving organization
through strategic planning and an exploration of the intriguing possibilities to
come. Four Rivers is truly a partnership organization reaching deep into our
area communities. I look forward to building on the strengths of the heritage
area, linking heritage tourism with economic development to benefit our museums,
our heritage sites and organizations, and our heritage tourism-related
businesses, to bring more visitors into our sites and strengthen the local
economy while working to preserve our historical, cultural and natural resources
for the future.”
Carol brings extensive
experience in working with heritage-related organizations to her new position.
While serving as Deputy Director for Special Projects at the Maryland Humanities
Council, she directed the History
Matters! program, assisting selected Maryland heritage areas in developing
thematic interpretive frameworks and detailed interpretive materials, together
with an online “Maryland History and Culture Bibliography.” Previously, as
Mellon Curatorial Fellow at the Walters Art
Museum in Baltimore, she helped to reconfigure its
galleries of Ancient Art. Carol has a doctorate in art history from
Princeton University and a B.A. from Oberlin College.
Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of
Annapolis, London Town & South County, one of Maryland’s 11 certified heritage areas, is a partnership
among the State of Maryland, Anne Arundel
County, the City of Annapolis, the town of Highland Beach, and local historic sites,
heritage organizations, and heritage-related businesses, to encourage economic
vitality through historic preservation and heritage tourism. For more
information, please contact Carol Benson at 410-222-1805.
