Bob Yates named Museum of Boulder interim executive director – Bould…

Former Boulder City Council member Bob Yates will step in as interim executive director of the Museum of Boulder, according to a news release by the museum Saturday. He will start in the role on Monday.

Before his election to the City Council, Yates served on the board of trustees for the Museum of Boulder from 2009 until 2015. He served as board president for four years and board chairman for his sixth and final year.

“I kind of feel like I’m going back home by returning, at least for a while, to the museum,” Yates said in an interview Saturday. “I’m happy to serve as interim executive director and help them find a permanent person to fill the role.”

Yates said he was approached by the museum’s board of trustees about the role following his unsuccessful mayoral run in this year’s Boulder election.

“It was kind of a coincidence of timing that they were losing their executive director at the same time as I was looking for new opportunities to serve the community,” he said.

Yates’ new role follows the departure of Lori Preston, who served as the executive director of the museum beginning in 2019.

Preston oversaw the museum’s first years in its new downtown Boulder location at 2205 Broadway. She also led the creation of several exhibits over her four years, including the museum’s current “Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History” exhibit.

“During her entire tenure, (Preston) emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion and enhanced the museum’s role as a cultural center,” Cynthia Schmidt, Museum of Boulder board chair, wrote in the release. “The entire board of trustees wishes (Preston) well in her next endeavor.”

As interim director, Yates said he will focus on keeping the museum financially secure and sustainable through this transitional period. He said he’ll be spending time over the next couple of weeks to become more familiar with the museum’s exhibits, programs and staff.

“I’ll be really making sure that the museum and the organization are in as good a place as possible so that when the board hires a permanent executive director, I’m able to hand that over to that person in really good shape,” Yates said.

More information about the museum can be found at museumofboulder.org.