Abbe Museum Staff
Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko
Chief Executive Officer
Organizational Leadership-Planning-Donor Relations-Tribal Relations-Board Support-Marketing-Outreach-Gathering Gala Coordinator
Raney Bench
Curator of Education
Educational Program Development & Delivery - Exhibit Development-Tribal Relations-Outreach
John Brown
Director of Finance & Administration
Financial Management & Bookkeeping-Personnel Support-IT Support-Facilities Management-Rentals
Julia Clark
Curator of Collections
Collections Care and Management-Field School Director-Exhibit Development-Facilities Support-Website Management
Astra Haldeman
Manager of Museum Services
Guest Services & Shop Manager-Artist Relations-Membership & Volunteer Program-Program Delivery & Scheduling
Nora Miller
Event Coordinator
Museum Events - Facility Rentals
Hannah Whalen
Director of Development
Donor Relations-Fund Development
Abbe Museum Trustees
Sandra K. Wilcox, Ph.D., President
Barbara McLeod, Vice President
William Haviland, Ph.D., Secretary (pro tem)
Jeff Dalrymple, Treasurer
Christina Baker, Ph.D.
John Benson, M.D.
Richard Cleary
Linda K. Dunn, MD
Margaret Kelley
Rick Phillips-Doyle
Darren Ranco, Ph.D.
Arthur Spiess, Ph.D.
Kessi Watters Kimball
Alice Wellman, Honorary Trustee
Staff Bios:
Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko is the CEO of the Abbe Museum and has worked in museums for over 15 years and has been a museum leader since 2001. Prior to joining the Abbe as CEO in June 2009, Cinnamon was the director of the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum (www.ben-hur.com) in Crawfordsville, Indiana where she led the organization to the National Medal for Museum Service in 2008. A passionate advocate for museums – their successes and their needs – she is a frequent presenter at national museum meetings. She serves as a council member for the American Association for State and Local History and served as the 2010 Program Chair for the Oklahoma City conference. From 2004-2010, Cinnamon has served on of the Small Museums Committee for AASLH and was the founding chair. For the past six years, she has served on the Conservation Assessment Program Advisory Committee for Heritage Preservation and as a peer reviewer for the American Association of Museums. She has also served as a grant reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2004, the Indiana Historical Society published Cinnamon’s first book The Art of Healing: The Wishard Art Collection. She is also co-editor of and chapter author for the Small Museum Toolkit, a six book series, to be published by Altamira Press in 2011. Cinnamon holds a BA in anthropology and art history from Purdue University and is a graduate of the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) MA program in anthropology with a specialization in museum studies. She lives on MDI with her husband and son. Visit her Linkedin profile.
Raney Bench, Curator of Education, was born in Minnesota, raised in California, and has been a resident of Southwest Harbor since moving to Maine three years ago to join the staff at the Abbe. Raney holds a BA in Native American Studies from Humboldt State University, Arcada, California with a minor in Anthropology/Archaeology and a MA in Museum Studies from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Having started her museum career as Director of Collections for the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury, VT, she soon found that her interest in federal Indian policy and people kept taking her to the classroom to teach. Raney also taught for the Community College of Vermont for several years. In 1998 she came to Maine for the first time and visited the Abbe Museum. Instantly falling in love, she knew she wanted to work for the Abbe. "It took almost 10 years to do it, but I'm thrilled to be working for this museum. I continue to be active in collections related work through consultation with other museums." Visit her Linkedin profile.
John "JB" Brown is Director of Finance & Administration and has been with the Abbe since 2006. JB had a early introduction to the original Abbe Museum at Sieur de Mont Springs during summer visits to Mount Desert Island as a child. At the modern day Abbe, he oversees the business operations of the museum and also general oversight of both buildings. He obtained a BS degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus in computer science. After college, he became a full time Maine resident and found work in the boat-building industry which included a sideline designing and building canoes. Subsequently, with the computer revolution, he was involved in pioneering work in computer aided design software for the marine industry. In recent years, he has brought his business related skills to the non-profit sector culminating in his current position at the Abbe. He lives in the village of Somesville with his wife and son. He enjoys coaching soccer, downhill skiing, and running an occasional marathon.
Julia Clark is the Curator of Collections at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor. She is responsible for the care of the museum's collections, maintenance of collections records, and care of the library and archives. One of her first tasks at the Abbe was to move their collections from the original 1928 building to the new museum, which opened in 2001. She is also involved in exhibit development and preparation, and facilities management. She has a B.A. in anthropology from Bowdoin College and a M.A. in anthropology from the University of Arkansas, with course work in museum studies. Julia worked for ten years doing cultural resource management archaeology in Maine. In her spare time, Julia is assistant chief of the Orland Volunteer Fire Department and president of the Hancock County Firefighters Association. Visit her Linkedin profile.
Nora Miller is the Events Coordinator at the Abbe Museum. Born and raised on the island, she has fond childhood memories of visiting the museum both at its Sieur de Monts location and in downtown Bar Harbor. She graduated in 2009 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a BBA Business Management and a BA in Italian Studies. In the newly created position of Events Coordinator, Nora is responsible for the coordination and production of Abbe events such as the annual Gathering Gala, exhibit openings, and donor events. She is also responsible for all facility rentals. In her free time she enjoys running and hiking and taking advantage of this beautiful part of the world.
Hannah Casey Whalen is serving as the Abbe’s Director of Development. She works closely with the CEO and leads the staff in all aspects of fundraising. Hannah holds a BA in English from The University of Maine; she started in sales 16 years ago and has spent the last seven years working in the non-profit sector. From 2004-09 she worked in the University of Maine’s Development Office and “learned the ropes” working as an Associate Development Officer, Corporate Relations Manager and finally a Major Gifts Officer. She worked closely with the University of Maine Museum of Art, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Collins Center for the Arts. Hannah has her own business, Golden Egg Consulting and has been helping a number of local non-profits with capital campaigns, PR and development efforts including: The Neighborhood House in Northeast Harbor, The Down East Family YMCA in Ellsworth, Island Readers and Writers, MDI and Frenchman Bay Conservancy of Hancock. Hannah moved to Mount Desert Island 11 years ago to sell fine wine for Pine State Trading Company, she now lives in Tremont with her husband, two cats and ten chickens; she enjoys art, great food & wine pairings, writing and running.