Brenton Grom Appointed as Executive Director of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum

The Webb Deane Stevens Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Brenton Grom as Executive Director beginning July 17, 2023. 

"We look forward to welcoming Brenton Grom as the next Executive Director of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum," said Alice Hyland, President of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Connecticut (NSCDA-CT). "His tenure at the George Read II House & Gardens in New Castle, Delaware, has prepared him to lead us in an innovative manner. He believes in the importance of combining historic authenticity and creative re-interpretation to enhance the visitors' experience. He has been described as a rising star and a vision builder. We anticipate a bright future for our museum with his intelligent guidance."

Brenton Grom was appointed Director of the George Read II House & Gardens in 2018 after two years as Curator of Special Collections at the Delaware Historical Society’s Research Library. His time at the Read House, a National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the Society since 1975, has included an overhaul of its interpretive philosophy, development strategy, and branding, as well as a $1M HVAC upgrade. In partnership with the DAVID RUBIN Land Collective of Philadelphia and Indianapolis, he recently spearheaded a garden renovation campaign to make the Read House landscape environmentally, financially, and socially sustainable for the next generation.
 
"I’m delighted to join the NSCDA-CT and the talented staff of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum in stewarding this American treasure through its next chapter," Grom said. "Working together to define patriotic service for the twenty-first century, we can play a vibrant role in bringing our community together, and in the process put the Museum and the Connecticut Dames on secure footing for the next generation."

Additionally, Grom founded the Delaware Historical Society’s Harry N. Baetjer III Junior Fellows Program, a highly competitive summer experience for high school students of widely varying backgrounds and interests; the program combines hands-on internship projects with a rigorous seminar component. Fellows regularly go on to attend top-ranked colleges such as Yale, MIT, Stanford, Brown, Swarthmore, St. Andrews (UK), and others. Grom studied piano and musicology at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Case Western Reserve University, and American history and material culture at the University of Delaware. Among his research fellowships are the Library of Congress, Massachusetts Historical Society, Historic Deerfield, and Trinity College (Hartford). 

The Museum Search Committee, helmed by NSCDA-CT members Ann Burton and Sara Champion, reviewed twenty-one applicants for the Executive Director position. The field was narrowed via virtual interviews, followed by three in-person interviews. The final two candidates gave presentations to the Museum's Board of Managers, Museum Council members, and Museum staff. The Committee cited Grom's accomplishments and vision for the Webb Deane Stevens Museum as factors in selecting him for the role.

Expressing his appreciation to the Search Committee, Grom remarked, "I thank Ann Burton and Sara Champion for leading a well-executed search; Alice (Tita) Hyland, Sally Kernan, and Gail Faherty for doing much legwork to ease the transition; and Linn McGlade for putting the organization in excellent shape during the interim."

A series of welcoming receptions will be held later this summer to introduce Grom to the community. Dates and times will be announced via email and posted to the museum website once details are confirmed.