ABOVE IMAGE: Guests in East India Marine Hall viewing the exhibition Charles Sandison: Figurehead 2.0. Photo by Mel Taing/PEM.
We’re excited to launch our new Fireside Chat series, featuring conversations between Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, PEM’s Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO, and a rotating group of guests. These conversations offer a peek into both our historic houses and the inner workings of the museum.
Hartigan recently sat down in PEM’s Ropes Mansion with Jennifer M. Borggaard, PEM’s new Chair of the Board of Trustees, to discuss women in leadership, the nature of curiosity and the changing face of PEM as a beloved local institution.
Lynda: This feels like a momentous moment. You're taking on this new role as the chair of our board. What's got you excited about stepping into this role?
![Lynda Roscoe Hartigan and Jennifer Borggaard. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Blog_Borggaard_1600_2.jpg)
Lynda Roscoe Hartigan and Jennifer Borggaard. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Jen: I feel like the museum's at such a great place right now. We, as a group, have come out of the pandemic and are poised to take advantage of people's need to reconnect in real spaces. The museum is a place that really fosters that and encourages that. I'm looking forward to how we as a museum can help people reengage. I'm excited about the next phase of growth for the museum in that way.
Lynda Roscoe Hartigan and Jennifer Borggaard. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Lynda: You mentioned growth, and we just happen to have a strategic plan that is called PEM FORWARD. The plan has just been approved. What aspects are you most excited about?
Jen: I'm so proud of the work that was done to get to this place with this strategic plan. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of deep thinking on what makes PEM what it is and what makes it special. All of that developed into a plan for four years that will give us a roadmap to not being just an art museum, but being a place for human-centered connection and creativity. By focusing our plan on that aspect of our museum, we are differentiating ourselves from other museums in the area, and actually, nationally and globally. For me, that human-centered piece is what makes PEM special, rooted in our maritime history and the founders’ spirit of exploration. We've been able to, through this new strategic plan, really tie back to our history, but also look toward the future to reconnect with our audiences and build on that strong history of creativity and curiosity.
![Guests in Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Blog_Borggaard_1600_3.jpg)
Guests in Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.
Lynda: That human-centered piece and the curiosity about the world is just so part of the PEM DNA, going way, way back, even to 1799. Bringing it forward and making it relevant today is really important as the board and PEM staff work together. I can proudly say that this is the first time that the museum has a woman as chair of the board and a woman as the executive director and chief executive officer. That's a big deal. I'm really curious about what you see as the importance and significance of that kind of new partnership?
Guests in Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.
Jen: I'm really excited for our partnership. In my first job out of college, when I was 22 years old, I was fortunate enough to work at a law firm in a department where three out of the five key partners were women. They were great role models for me in the short time I was there. I just assumed that was the way things would be in life and in my career. As I traversed my career, I found that that was not always the case. I think we as women typically have different leadership styles than men, but have equally powerful and strong leadership, and I'm looking forward to that partnership together. It's an exciting opportunity.
![Lynda Roscoe Hartigan in PEM’s gallery of Japanese art. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Blog_Borggaard_1600_4.jpg)
Lynda: We're going to be just great together. You've had a long engagement with the board, but I know you've also had more of a personal connection with the museum. I'm hoping that by now you've got a favorite object or favorite space in the museum?
![Ceremonial installation of Kū (Kūkā’ilimoku). Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Blog_Borggaard_1600_5.jpg)
Jen: I've been coming to the museum since I was a child growing up on the North Shore. My dad brought me to the maritime exhibitions. Then, as a mom, when I brought my own children here, I really felt a connection with the Art & Nature Center and the ability for my kids to be hands-on and interacting with the exhibitions. The thing I love about PEM is that it changes, and that one object is not going to be what I'm going to come back for every time. I'm coming back for the changing exhibitions, the multidisciplinary interaction and the things that challenge me creatively and intellectually. For me, I enjoy the fact that the museum is different every time I come.
![Nathan Peddie, Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center Program Specialist, feeds a colony of live Egyptian fruit bats in the Bats! exhibition. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Blog_Borggaard_1600_6.jpg)
Nathan Peddie, Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center Program Specialist, feeds a colony of live Egyptian fruit bats in the Bats! exhibition. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Lynda: I appreciate that. PEM is clearly so meaningful to you. What do you hope will happen during your leadership as chair of the board?
Nathan Peddie, Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center Program Specialist, feeds a colony of live Egyptian fruit bats in the Bats! exhibition. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
![The Salem Stories exhibition, which tells the history of Salem from A to Z. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/general/Blog_Borggaard_1600_7.jpg)
Jen: I hope we continue to develop and grow through our strategic plan focused on people, focused on creativity and connection. I hope we can continue to be even more inclusive, bring in new audiences and introduce PEM to people who haven't had the opportunity to come through the doors — help them feel welcome and help them feel that PEM is a place for all. Certainly within the strategic plan, this whole concept of the human centered translates to a sense of belonging. That, I think, is a very powerful goal for all of us as we work together.
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