The National Women’s Hall of Fame has a new executive director.
The Seneca Falls-based museum has named Jennifer Gabriel to the newly created position.
Gabriel most recently headed up development and community relations for Hospicare & Palliative Care Services, based in Tompkins and Cortland counties.
Gabriel grew up in Ithaca, and she said that one of her goals is to get more people, both locally and nationally, to learn about the Finger Lakes connection to women’s rights as well as the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
“And work together to not only build the brand regionally, but also nationally. And make sure that across the nation from coast to coast, people associate Seneca Falls with the National Women's Hall of Fame in the same way that they associate Cooperstown with the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Gabriel said.
The Women’s Hall of Fame has taken steps in recent months to diversify the list of women it inducts into the museum, and that’s a focus Gabriel sees as an important ongoing initiative for the National Women’s Hall of Fame, as it honors the inductees.
“So many of them showcase examples of how their accomplishments were stolen, or diminished or forgotten. And we know that's still happening today, especially to communities of color. And so we want to continue telling those stories, and you know, to make sure that we are telling all of the stories,” Gabriel said.
Gabriel said her immediate tasks include prepare for this fall’s induction ceremoniesas well as the ongoing expansion work for the Hall’s new home at the former Seneca Knitting Mill. Former First Lady Michelle Obama is among the nine women being inducted into the Hall on Oct. 2.
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