CMEE's Stephen Long Joins East Hampton Historical Society as Executive Director

The East Hampton Historical Society announced on Monday, September 21, that Stephen Long has been selected by the Board of Trustees as the organization’s new Executive Director. He follows Maria Vann, who was brought on as executive director in 2018, and an interim director, Cristoff Shay, who served during the summer of 2021.

Currently the President of the Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE), Long joins the Historical Society as it celebrates its centennial anniversary and plans a renovation and reinterpretation of the Marine Museum. Long has led CMEE in Bridgehampton since 2008. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of Collections and Education at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City.

“The Board is overjoyed to have Steve lead the Historical Society as we begin our next hundred years,” Board of Trustees President Mike Clifford said in a statement announcing the news, adding, “While we engaged in a nationwide search, in the end we were thrilled to find someone with roots already in the Town of East Hampton. Steve combines a deep commitment to the local community with extensive experience in history and historic preservation. We could not be more excited about this appointment.”

At the Children’s Museum, Long helped make the organization into a vibrant hub for kids and families on the East End, doubling attendance, growing the staff and budget, and building strategic partnerships with numerous social service and community agencies.

“I am excited and honored to join The East Hampton Historical Society and develop new opportunities for the entire community to engage with the past,” Long said. “I look forward to working with the talented staff and Board to deepen the Historical Society’s impact as it enters its next century.”

Longtime EHHS executive director Richard Barons, who aimed to retire after his tenure ended in 2017, has returned as Chief Curator.

The East Hampton Historical Society collects, preserves, presents and interprets the cultural and economic heritage of the town and its surroundings through various exhibitions and programs at numerous locations, including the Clinton Academy, Mulford Farm, Osborn-Jackson House, Thomas & Mary Nimmo Moran Studio and East Hampton Town Marine Museum, among others. The Historical Society is the parent organization for a complex of seven museums, national landmark historic sites and workshop facilities of both local and national importance.

Learn more at easthamptonhistory.org.