WWBA Welcomes New Executive Director Caitlyn Shea
Caitlyn Shea
For the past two years, Caitlyn Shea has served as Executive Director of the Northport Historical Society Museum in Northport, NY, where she led a team of seven employees and 20-plus volunteers and met regularly with its twelve-member Board of Trustees.
Since taking on this position in March of 2022, Caitlyn worked hard to network with the community. In the beginning, she often heard “I had no idea the museum was here,” even though the Society opened in 1962. By attending Chamber of Commerce meetings, creating flyers for local businesses, focusing on personalized social media and newsletters, collaborating with nearby businesses and speaking to local residents regularly, she was able to boost the museum’s membership and presence by more than 100%. Creative problem solving with a small team is one of her greatest strengths.
Beginning in March 2019, Caitlyn served as Events & Media Director of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association in Huntington Station, NY. When faced with the many challenges 2020 presented the WWBA and the world at large, Caitlyn had the unique experience of hosting more than 100 Zoom events and reinventing the Birthplace’s digital marketing. Caitlyn wrote “Visibility” grants that funded advertising through new digital signage on Rt. 110, consultations with marketing specialists, and video productions of testimonials and sizzle reels for the WWBA website. She also developed close relationships with the Long Island poetry community.
Caitlyn is an artist who created a bicentennial poster for WWBA to commemorate Whitman’s 200th birthday. She was an assistant office manager for The Armory Show, Pier – Manhattan, NY in 2012 and co-producer of the Jumpstart Program at the East End Arts Council in Riverhead from 2014-2016. She was also a painting instructor for Paint the Town Studio Huntington, NY from 2016-2019.
Caitlyn holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Art History from Adelphi University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She also attended Skidmore College, Pratt Institute and New York’s School of Visual Arts.
