Maggie Stier to serve as interim director of Canterbury Shaker Village

CANTERBURY — Maggie Stier, who has served as director of marketing and development at Canterbury Shaker Village, will assume a new role as interim director on Friday, Feb. 1.

Susan Bennett, who has served executive director since January 2017, has decided to relinquish her duties as of Jan. 31. She had come to the Village from the Lexington (Massachusetts) Historical Society and was "a force for positive change at the Village in her short tenure,” according Board Chair Kirk Leoni.

“We are most grateful for her dedicated leadership over the past two years," he said. "She extended her tenure at the Village well beyond what she had initially committed to, despite the long commute and time away from her family. Her training in legal matters and archives management, along with her skill in fundraising and museum management, made her an ideal leader for the Village. She established a team of colleagues at the Village who have worked collaboratively to improve many aspects of our stewardship and public outreach."

Stier will be working with the board and staff to continue to develop a vision for the Village that will engage new audiences and continue the momentum established during Bennett’s tenure. Bennett will assist with the transition by working part-time as a consultant to Stier to complete several projects that she has initiated, including the state-mandated repair of the dam at Turning Mill Pond in the Village, which recently received a $97,300 grant from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program.

Stier brings many years of experience in historic preservation, museums, and Shaker studies to the position. Prior to coming to Canterbury Shaker Village in January 2018, Stier spent 10 years as statewide field service representative for the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, helping to preserve and repurpose historic buildings and landscapes throughout New Hampshire. She was the founding executive director at The Fells historic estate and gardens in Newbury; curator at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts; and registrar at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth.

Leoni is optimistic about the future. “We look forward to Maggie’s informed guidance as we continue to enhance Canterbury Shaker Village’s goals for public engagement and historic preservation.”