Providence Athenaeum names interim executive director

MIKE GERHARDT HAS BEEN named interim director of the Providence Athenaeum. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM
MIKE GERHARDT HAS BEEN named interim director of the Providence Athenaeum. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM

PROVIDENCE – The Providence Athenaeum expects to hire a permanent executive director by the end of May but has hired Mike Gerhardt in an interim capacity to replace Alison Maxwell, according to Board of Directors President Candy Adriance.
Maxwell, who left at the end of 2014 after 10 years with the nonprofit library, successfully completed the 2015-20 strategic plan. Having planned to work at the Athenaeum for a decade, she is now pursuing a variety of options, said Adriance.
She also helped the nonprofit through a contentious period around 2005 when the board opted to auction off one of two historic Audubon books to raise money for the endowment. The book sold for $5 million, doubling the endowment, and Maxwell served as “peacemaker” in overseeing the auction and communicating with all parties at that time, Adriance said.
Hired Jan. 1, Gerhardt will help with the transition as the board searches for a permanent replacement, said Adriance. Gerhardt has worked for numerous other nonprofits before coming to the Athenaeum and will help as the board does an internal assessment and writes a job description for a new executive director, she said.
Gerhardt, of Warren, introduced himself to the Athenaeum community in a newsletter emailed Thursday. He has established himself as a professional that helps nonprofits get through leadership transitions, he said. Gerhardt could not be reached for comment.
“Over the past sixteen years I have fashioned a second career, serving in comparable roles in sixteen non-profit organizations in Rhode Island, including the Rhode Island Historical Society (twice), the RI Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School, Festival Ballet Providence, Save the Bay, Home and Hospice Care of RI and the Ronald McDonald House among others,” he writes in the newsletter.
Describing the Athenaeum as “a remarkable asset,” he invites interaction with the public in person, by phone (431-6970 ext. 11) or through email at mgerhardt@provath.org.

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