Whitney Harness has served as interim co-executive director of the Pratt Museum since February, alongside Yarrow Hinnant, the museum’s curator of botanical exhibits. The museum board of directors announced last week Harness’ permanent appointment to the position. Hinnant will continue in his role as museum botanical exhibits curator.

According to an Oct. 27 press release issued by the The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. Board of Directors, Harness’ appointment was effective as of Sept. 26. As executive director, she will continue to oversee the museum’s daily operations, strategic initiatives and continued engagement with the local community.

Born and raised in Alaska, Harness has lived in Homer for nearly a decade. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and has completed graduate-level coursework in education studies. She previously held management positions in cultural and tourism-related industries in the state and, prior to being named interim co-executive director, Harness also served as the Visitor Services, Store and Communications Manager for the Pratt Museum.

Board president Sue Fallon said in the release that Harness “brings a wonderful depth of knowledge and insight to her role” at the museum.

“Her passion, empathy and connections to the community are invaluable, and we are thrilled to welcome her leadership as the Pratt Museum moves forward into our next chapter,” she said.

In an interview Friday, Harness said she was excited to continue serving the community and the Pratt Museum as executive director.

“I have always had a love for history and culture … it’s fun to see how life has led to being an educator in a different sort of system,” she said. “I’m just very excited for the opportunity to be engaged in the community in this role.”

Looking back over the past few months, Harness said her time as interim director was a “great period of growth and momentum.”

“We had a really wonderful summer. Our team, including our board members, worked together really well to put on a great experience for all of our summer guests, as well as our local community members, to participate in our programs and workshops,” she said. “We went over our expectations for group tour visits and independent visits.”

She said that the museum’s goal for the summer was to listen to the community and re-establish the museum’s role as a “community cornerstone,” offering educational programs and exhibits that were meaningful to the greater Homer community.

Harness also spent her time as interim director working with museum staff and the board to “create a cohesive team that’s ready to tackle some of the challenges” facing the Pratt.

Some of those challenges include infrastructure issues and the current federal funding climate. The Pratt Museum continues campaigning for funding assistance for their roof replacement project, and the museum earlier this year saw previously-approved federal funding cancelled.

“We ended up with about $9,500 in terminated funding — half of which we had already spent, and half of which we had plans to spend (on) programming and supplies for programming that we were planning on offering,” she said.

Additionally, future federal funding for nonprofits — especially museums and libraries, Harness said — remains uncertain.

“Federal funding for all nonprofits has really changed, so competition for other grants has really increased,” she said. “Those have been some challenges that haven’t been resolved and that we’re learning to adapt and work around.”

Coming into her role as the permanent director, Harness said the biggest challenge she and the Pratt face is maintaining relevance and service to the community.

“Making sure that we’re engaged and listening to the needs of the community, and how we can better serve our year-round community members, as well as be a good representation of the region to visitors who come through and are introduced to the Kachemak Bay region by what they see at the museum — to do that, we need a sound and safe facility,” she said. “Those are the biggest challenges I envision continuing into the new year.”

For the remainder of this year, Harness said that the Pratt Museum is slowing down a bit in their programming, but they still have several upcoming events including two fundraisers this weekend — a “snack and paint” session for kids and teens Saturday afternoon and a “sip and paint” session for adults later that evening.

The museum is also in the midst of their annual membership drive. Harness said that the Pratt is hoping to increase membership by 25% and raise $20,000 in year-end contributions.

“We’re engaging in community outreach and making sure that people are aware of the benefits of supporting the museum through membership,” she said. “So that’s something fun that we’re working on right now.”

Learn more about current and upcoming events and programs at the Pratt Museum at www.prattmuseum.org or visit the museum in person at 3779 Bartlett Street in Homer.