Mailing Address: PO Box 131, South Windsor, CT 06074
Phone: 860-864-6618
Staff
Carolyn Venne, Executive Director
860-923-4317
Carolyn is a graduate of Babson College and has a Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University. She also obtained a professional certification from the American Association of State and Local History, which included training in museum education, collections management and exhibit design. She has worked for and with nonprofits 20 years and served as a member of the Friends’ Board of Directors before being named executive director in January 2017. Carolyn has taken part in numerous training programs, including HFPG’s Building on Success program, Uncovering the Hidden History in your Town and a learning cohort on racial equity. In 2020 Carolyn curated the online exhibit Transportation Advancements from the Podunk Path to the Moon, inspired by South Windsor’s 175th Anniversary. Carolyn is a member of the South Windsor Greater Together Community Fund Committee through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, a member of the finance committee for CAST Children’s Theatre , a cellist in a local teaching orchestra and in her role as executive director, a liaison to the Arts Commission for the Town of South Windsor.
Jessica Vogelgesang, Director of Communications and Engagement
860-718-4952
Jess has a BA in Journalism and a MA in Communications. First a volunteer and then a board member, Jess was named interim executive director in February 2015 before permanently taking on her current role as Director of Communications. Her early work involved successfully publicizing the Gingerbread House Festival, making it the New England-wide destination that it is today with features in Yankee Magazine, Connecticut Magazine and more. She has curated a number of our organization’s exhibits, including Evolution of Agriculture, A Night at the Museum, and Our Shared History: Main Street, and has been published in Connecticut Explored. Jess recently served as a member of the Charter Commission for the Town of South Windsor. Today, Jess is particularly well known for her widely popular Musings from Main email series, which began in 2020.
OPEN POSITION, Education Director
860-864-6174
Museum Educators
The Watershed History Collective is also supported by a host of paid educators who meet and train with staff regularly to offer educational programs for all ages and abilities.
Board of Directors, FY25-26
Natalie O’Brien, President
Anitha Elango, Vice President
Julie Runkle, Treasurer
Jamie Howe, Secretary
Beth Arnold, Mark Cabot, Deb Cohen, Ann-Marie Germano, Shirley Hennessey, Jane Robinson,
Sara Slogesky, Cliff Williams