DORRIE HIPSCHMAN APPOINTED NEW DIRECTOR OF BAILEY-MATHEWS SHELL MUSEUM

Sanibel, Fla. (Thursday, June 27, 2013) – The Board of Trustees of the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is proud to announce the hiring of Dorrie Hipschman as the Museum’s Executive Director. She brings a wealth of experience with more than 20 years leading non-profit organizations. Most recently, Hipschman was the Executive Director of the Cade Museum in Gainesville, Florida. Additionally, she has served as Executive Director at The Building for Kids in Appleton, Wisconsin, the Children’s Museum in Stockton, California, and the Flathead Convention and Visitors Association in Whitefish, Montana. She was also Development Director at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND. Hipschman is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in American Studies and additional MBA courses at the University of Hawaii. The Museum will greatly benefit from Hipschman’s extensive skills in strategic planning, museum expansion, major gift fundraising and grant writing, and experience in managing staff and volunteers, according to Board President Clair Beckmann. Hipschman has received several museum awards including the American Library Services for Children Award, MetLife Promising Practices Award for children’s health programming and the Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau Destination Builder Award. “Dorrie Hipschman is a lifelong enthusiast of both shells and the ocean environment that they represent. Having come from a large, scientifically-minded, sailing family, she has spent much of her life hunting for, cleaning and collecting seashells along the Atlantic coast, while scuba diving in Hawaii, on Sanibel Island and while snorkeling in Saipan.” Beckmann said. The Board also said Dr. José Leal will transition to become Curator and Director of Education. “From the unique perspective of a marine scientist, it will be great to have the opportunity to expand on and interpret new findings to our visitors and followers worldwide. With Dorrie taking on the Museum management, I will be able to devote my time, as Curator, to the very specialty that introduced me to museum activities in the first place—collection-based research and organization. My thanks to our supporters for their continued assistance and support of the Shell Museum and its efforts,” Leal said. Dorrie Hipschman (dorriehipschman@gmail.com or 352-682-292 Of the more than 17,500 museums in the U.S., The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is one of approximately 800 institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Museum features more than 35 exhibits of shells and mollusks from around the world. Exhibits are devoted to shells in art and history, shell habitat, rare specimens, fossil shells, common Southwest Florida shells, and more. The learning lab features a hands-on play area for children, displays, games, and a tank with indigenous mollusks. Two half-hour videos, “Mollusks in Action” & “Tales and Trails,” are shown throughout the day, and a children’s video is shown continuously. The Museum Store offers a wide selection of shell books. The Museum is open 7 days a week, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. LIBRARY NEWS