Since its founding in 1966, The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) has focused on preserving the treasures of the city’s culture and past. In looking toward its own future, however, the organization recently created a new position. In December 2021, following a nationwide search, Heather Hodges was named THNOC’s first director of internal and external relations.
“We do all of the amazing things we do to shepherd, to document, to preserve the history and culture of New Orleans and that in return, we get to share that with the public at no charge,” said Hodges. “There are a lot of museums in the city, there are a lot in the country, but not many are free and open to the public, and we are working to make sure that people know that we are accessible, inclusive and welcoming.”
Hodges’ role puts her at the helm of a new division at THNOC that includes both the marketing and communications department, as well as development.
“I spend a lot of time thinking about how we communicate to the world who we are, what we do, how we want to be a service to the broader community,” said Hodges. “Core to our work is the idea that our founders wanted to be a free and public resource for not just storing the history and culture and morals of the gulf region but for making them available to the community.”
In addition to forming collaborative research initiatives with area museums, Hodges is currently working with museum leaders on two international exhibitions set to open this fall.
