Museum L-A hires new staff

LEWISTON — Museum L-A has hired three new employees in recent weeks that the executive director said will help bring the museum “up to the next level.”
New staff includes Kathy Becvar, as full-time director of development; Emma Sieh, part-time collections and exhibits coordinator; and Kate Webber, full-time director of education and outreach. In a related move, Robert Caron is moving from his current role as project coordinator to a new part-time role as visitor services and volunteer coordinator.

“We are extremely pleased and excited to have three, highly-qualified staff joining Museum L-A,” said Rachel Desgrossielliers, executive director of the museum, which is in the Bates Mill complex, 35 Canal St.
“These individuals bring additional resources, including experience in the areas of fundraising and marketing, education and outreach programs, and curation, collections and exhibits, that are crucial to bringing us to the next level of who we want to be as an organization. Our community can expect to see many changes over the next several months and beyond.”
Becvar was previously director of development for Central Maine Healthcare Corporation, overseeing fundraising for Central Maine Medical Center, Bridgton Hospital and Rumford Hospital. She will oversee marketing and public relations activities.
Sieh started her career as a collections volunteer at the Heritage Flight Museum in Washington state,and eventually
became manager of collections, maintaining and updating collection spaces and policies, as well as creating and redesigning exhibits and displays. She will provide collections management expertise, helping to coordinate, plan, and curate future exhibitions, and chair several committees within the organization.
Webber, as a student at Bates College, collaborated with Museum L-A to plan an outreach event. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 2011. After two years as an Island Institute AmeriCorps Fellow with the Swan’s Island Historical Society, she authored “Swan’s Island Chronicles: Borrowed, Exaggerated, and Half-forgotten Tales of Island Life.” She was most recently communications and development assistant at the Maine Humanities Council.
She will serve as Museum L-A’s chief programmatic strategist, developing partnerships with schools and community organizations to expand the museum’s role as a resource to Lewiston-Auburn.
Caron has been with the museum for two years and offers an extensive array of experience from human resources, employee training and development, and data collection and analysis. He is responsible for all aspects of visitor services, including the development of new programs and the coordination of tours and volunteer services.
Museum L-A is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. It is also open by by appointment. For more information, contact rachel@museumla.org or call 207-333-3881.