After conducting a national search, the nonprofit Glenwood Springs Historical Society is pleased to announce the hiring of Mark Jensen as its executive director. The candidate pool, which included several local applicants, was extraordinarily strong. However, the Society’s board believes it has found the right match of experience and skills to lead the organization in its work to preserve and share local history.
Jensen, who begins work on June 13, is an experienced archivist and museum curator dedicated to preserving and interpreting American history. He holds a Master of Arts in American History from the University of Utah.
Jensen most recently served, since 2011, as executive director of Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch, a nonprofit historic preservation organization in Minden, NV. Under his leadership, the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park flourished, transforming into a vibrant public day-use park featuring a 15-room house museum and seven other National Register-listed buildings and structures dating from 1857 to 1917. He played a pivotal role in the creation, growth and success of the organization, overseeing board development, goal setting, planning and nonprofit administration. His efforts earned the organization more than $1.4 million in income from donations, grants, events, rentals and museum store sales.
While managing the park, he guided several building and landscape restoration projects, helping to preserve the park’s historical authenticity. He planned and managed an annual budget, increasing it from zero to more than $130,000 annually, with primary responsibility for fundraising and donor development. His creation of a membership program expanded the annual contributor list to more than 550 individuals and business sponsors. He also led the effort to create an endowment fund to benefit the park, securing donations to grow the balance to more than $265,000.
Jensen’s grant-writing skills resulted in numerous successful applications for foundation and government grants to fund programming, restoration, staffing and operations. He developed the park’s guided history tours, artifact exhibits and other interpretive programs that enhanced the educational experience for visitors, and managed the park’s collection of 45,000 artifacts, documents and photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries. His creation of the Dangberg Summer Festival, featuring concerts, Chautauqua performances, and author and historian presentations helped quadruple the park’s visitation from 1,000 to almost 5,000 annually.
Before his most recent role, Jensen’s experience included work as a historic site interpreter for Nevada State Parks, the archivist for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games organizing committee and archivist at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library. He is a native of northern Utah.Officially incorporated in 1964, Glenwood Springs Historical Society’s mission is “serving as the living legacy of our local life.” The Society operates the Frontier Museum at 1001 Colorado Avenue and the Doc Holliday Museum in the basement of Bullocks Western Wear, and provides other forms of outreach and historical education for the Glenwood Springs community. The society is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and donations to help achieve its mission are welcome at www.GlenwoodHistory.com