Hildene president, Seth Bongartz, has announced his intention to step down as president at the end of 2019, providing the board of trustees a full year to find his replacement. Said Bongartz, “At the end of 2019 I will have been in my current role for eighteen years. We have accomplished a lot. There is a lot more to do, but I have to accept that will always be the case. I will have turned sixty-five and it is simply time for me to focus on my family, friends and personal interests in a way I haven’t always been able to.”
 
Laine Dunham, Hildene’s vice president and creative director, will also step down, with a slightly earlier departure at the end of September. “My time at Hildene has afforded me the extraordinary opportunity to work on a myriad of challenging projects and, in the process, to work with a passionate, talented and dedicated team of people.  I look forward to seeing the heights to which the next administration will take Hildene.” 
 
“Laine let me know of her plans several months ago,” said Bongartz. “She brought a lot of relevant experience to Hildene and, in addition to her brilliant design work on our new and renovated buildings, she has helped instill a higher level of professionalism to the entire operation. She has been an indispensable part of Hildene’s success.”
 
Kenneth Moriarty, chair of Hildene’s board of trustees, credits Bongartz and Dunham with transforming Hildene from a house museum to a thriving world-class cultural heritage site, deeply rooted in its home soil. “The Board has known that both Seth and Laine were approaching the time when they would understandably be thinking about retirement. It was a bit of a jolt when the time actually arrived but, there is nothing like going out at the top of your game.”
 
Moriarty further stated, “We join all friends of Hildene in gratitude for the dedication they have brought to successfully realizing the true potential of Hildene to become one of the most important Lincoln sites in the country.”
 
Bongartz said, “While this will be my last year, I will not be on a glide path to retirement. I plan to give Hildene every ounce of energy I have until December 31, 2019. We have a lot to do and it is very important to me to leave Hildene in the very best position possible for my successor.”
 
Following his retirement, Bongartz will remain connected to Hildene as a part-time consultant for the new president.