Staff & Trustees

Museum Staff

• Mary Delehanty

  Public Engagement Manager

  Mary is part of the Education Team in which she creates and encourages public education and community engagement through museum programs, workshops, events, and our Artist-in-Residence program.

  Mary earned a pair of degrees from the University of Southern Maine. First, she earned a B.A. in Communication and Media Studies. Later, she received her M.S. in Teaching and Learning. She has enjoyed being a member of the Brick Store Museum Staff since June of 2022. Before that, she taught Third Grade and then spent six years staying home with her three daughters. Since joining, she has worked to use youth and adult classes as an opportunity to get people into the museum so they can also enjoy the rotation of wonderful exhibits. 

• Alex Fletcher

  Development & Stewardship Coordinator

  

  Alex joined the BSM team in 2018. His responsibilities include managing the Museum’s annual appeal and development outreach; overseeing the Program Center and facilities planning; training volunteers and managing the Welcome Desk, and is part of the emergency management team. Alex is also a Historic District Walking Tour Guide.

  Alex is an aspiring historian currently living in Wells, Maine. Alex has been interested in history for almost as long as he can remember; he has fond memories of insisting that his father read him a National Geographic article about the Battle of Midway as a bedtime story. Alex grew up in Wells, and graduated from Wells High School. But, determined to live somewhere colder than Maine, he wandered north for college, and pursued a BA in History at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Most recently, Alex received his Masters degree in Museum Studies at UNH.

• Leanne Hayden

  Manager of Collections & Archives

  

  Leanne’s responsibilities in Collections management are wide ranging, including overseeing artifact donations, incoming and outgoing loans, assisting in the creation of new exhibitions, helping researchers in the Archives, digitizing our Collections and much more.

  Leanne holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Archaeology from the University of New Hampshire, and a M.A. in Prehistoric Archaeology from Durham University in England.  While working as an archaeologist, Leanne worked on projects all over New England as well as internationally.  After several years of field work, she attended the Harvard University Extension School Museum Studies Program and has been working in museums ever since.  She has been responsible for taking a 3000 year old Egyptian mummy to be CAT scanned as well as organizing and installing dozens of exhibitions that included everything from M.C. Escher prints and Alexander Calder sculptures to Samurai armor and Native American headdresses. She joined the BSM team in 2014.

  Growing up in York, Maine, right down the road from the beautiful historic buildings of the Museums of Old York, Leanne has always had a passion for history.  She now lives in Lyman with her two daughters.   After living in Massachusetts for a time, she is happy to be back in Maine close to family and their camp in Peru, Maine.

• Kathryn Hussey

  Collections Registrar (Volunteer)

  Kathryn is in charge of tracking every artifact that comes into the Museum, ensuring its location and safety. She keeps meticulous records on each artifact (over 50,000 in all!) and is a talented organizer.

  As a full-time volunteer at the BSM,  Kathryn has proudly worked for the Museum since the mid-1970s, after moving to Kennebunkport in the 1960s to raise her family. She received her degree in History at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, and continued to develop her skill in preserving artifacts and historic costumes throughout her life.

  Kathryn’s dedication to protecting and caring for Kennebunk’s history is unparalelled!

• Joyce Schnaars

  Museum Educator

  

  Joyce is part of the Education Team in which she leads in-classroom programs and curriculum-based site visits for local public and private schools, and adult & senior learning opportunities, as well as managing the Museum’s summer internship program. 

  Joyce grew up in northern New Jersey and earned a BA in Art Education and an MA in Special Education alongside her certification to teach in public and Montessori schools. In 2018 her family followed their New England “calling” and relocated to Boston and Kennebunk. In her free time she loves to explore Maine – the beaches, mountains, food, music, and art.

  Joyce joined the Museum in 2022, and values the stories people tell and their connection to history and culture. Through her work, she taps into her  experiences in art and business, as an educator, and Head of School. It is joyful to connect with educators, artists, adults, families, and children that visit and are associated with the museum. History is always in the making!

• Cynthia Walker

  Executive Director

  

   Cynthia and her twin sister grew up in North Andover, Massachusetts. She came to Maine for the first time at one month old, and spent every summer at her family’s c. 1898 cottage on Wells Beach.

  Walker earned a B.S. in Public History and Middle Eastern Studies at Northeastern University; and earned an M.A. in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program (SUNY). Her Master’s thesis focused on Museum founder Edith Barry’s ethnocentrism via photographs and writings in the early 20th century. 

  She completed two internships at the Museum prior to being hired as the Museum’s Exhibitions Curator from 2010 – 2011; Associate Director from 2012 – 2013; and became Executive Director in February 2014. Cynthia is the Treasurer of the New England Museum Association and a peer reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.

  

  In her role as Director, Cynthia oversees the daily operations of the Museum, including fundraising; program development; interfacing with the Board of Trustees, staff and visitors; researching and installing new exhibitions; facilities management; and creating meaningful partnerships with local organizations, people and businesses. Her favorite part of this work is sharing stories.

  Cynthia’s dog, Murtaugh, is a frequent volunteer at the Museum and can often be found sleeping on the job near the front desk.