Middleton Place Foundation in Charleston names new president and CEO

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Middleton Place Foundation has named Dana Hand Evans as the organization’s next president and CEO.

Recognized for visionary leadership, Evans has extensive experience in historic preservation, public history and museum management, a news release stated.

Identified through a nationwide executive search, Evans will begin in August 2024.

Board Chairman Mike Laughlin cited the Board of Trustees’ endorsement of Evans as the Foundation’s next leader.

“Dana brings a wealth of knowledge, vision, and a career-long commitment to historic preservation and public history,” said Laughlin. We’re thrilled she will lead Middleton Place Foundation into its next chapter,” he said in the release.

Evans is joining Middleton Place at a notable time in its history, the release stated. This year Middleton Place kicked off a year-long celebration to commemorate the Foundation’s 50th anniversary and to celebrate its long-standing commitment to inspiring positive change through an understanding of American history. Moreover, the completion of a forward-thinking master plan by the renowned landscape architect Thomas Woltz has provided a visionary roadmap to move Middleton Place into the future.

“Dana brings new zest to the Foundation’s mission of preservation, research, and education,” said Charles Duell, founder of Middleton Place Foundation, in the release, “and we are excited to see Middleton Place, a national treasure, reach new heights under her leadership.”

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Evans has served for 14 years as executive director and CEO of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Va., a year-round regional history complex encompassing three historic houses, eight acres of formal gardens, 200 acres of working farm, a 50,000 square-foot history museum and administrative center designed by architect Michael Graves, and Virginia’s largest art park, with 85 acres of hiking, walking, and art trails.

Working with a Board, staff, donors, and community partners, over her tenure at the MSV Evans created a new vision, mission, and brand for the MSV and then developed and implemented five-year Strategic and 10-year Master Plans. Today, the MSV greets more than 200,000 visitors annually, has a membership of 4,200 households, and is a relevant, transformative gathering place for shared ideas that has enriched the local and regional community.

“It is an honor to serve Middleton Place Foundation as its next President and CEO,” said Evans, “and I look forward to working with its talented staff and dedicated Board to build on past successes and forge new ones going forward. I am especially excited to join Middleton Place at such a pivotal time as it celebrates its 50th Anniversary and strategically looks to the future.”

Earlier in her career Evans was director and curator of Wilton House Museum of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia and then executive director of both, located in Richmond, Virginia. Before that, she served on staff at Agecroft Hall and Gardens and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, both in Richmond.

Evans earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Art History, Painting and Printmaking from La Salle University, Philadelphia; and a Master of Arts Degree in Art History, Historical Studies, and a Master of Public Administration Degree, both from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a Certified Fund-Raising Executive in the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and, notably in the museum field, a Fellow of the Museum Leadership Institute of Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University, California.

Located on the Ashley River in Charleston, Middleton Place National Historic Landmark has a history spanning three centuries of one family — with one member being a signer of the Declaration of Independence — and including the essential stories and contributions of over 3,200 enslaved people who lived and labored on Middleton properties, according to the release.

Today Middleton Place encompasses 110 acres and includes America’s oldest landscaped gardens, a house museum, stable yards, and Eliza’s House, an African American freedman’s dwelling. The site also includes a restaurant, retail shops, and the Inn at Middleton Place. More than 100,000 people yearly visit Middleton Place each year.