Shawn O’Donnell of Newcomb, Md. has joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md. as Vice President of Operations. In this new position, O’Donnell is responsible for oversight, implementation, and management of CBMM’s strategies for its guest services, marina, Museum Store, charity boat donation program, and boatyard operations.
O’Donnell has more than 30 years’ experience in operations management. A former U.S. Navy surface officer, he was commissioned at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash. After naval service, O’Donnell’s career focused on chemical manufacturing and process safety management in the private and public sectors.
“As a third generation naval officer, it is a great honor for me and my family to serve the public and the remarkable staff and volunteers of the maritime museum,” said O’Donnell.
A native of Talbot County, O’Donnell and his family have always been connected to the Chesapeake Bay, spending vacations sailing, hunting, and crabbing on the Miles River. Returning to live on the Newcomb Hall family farm—with his wife of 30 years, Suzanne, and his mother, Mary Len Trippe—is a lifelong goal of O’Donnell’s recently achieved.
“We are thrilled to have Shawn working with us,” said CBMM President Kristen Greenaway. “His management experience and collaborative work with all departments will be key in helping CBMM achieve high standards of excellence in all our operations.”
O’Donnell is a longstanding volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, serving in numerous capacities. As a Cubmaster he ran day camps, and as a Scoutmaster, skippered co-ed groups to Florida Sea Base for week-long schooner cruises, and quarter-mastered troops at national jamborees at Fort AP Hill, Va. He is a member of the Eastern Shore chapter of the Navy League, the Izaak Walton League, and the Oysters for the Bay Recovery Initiative.
CBMM’s previous Vice President of Operations Bill Gilmore is now serving as the museum’s Vice President of Facilities Management, a newly created position.
Established in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a world-class maritime museum dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment, and people of the entire Chesapeake Bay, with the values of relevancy, authenticity, and stewardship guiding its mission. Charitable gifts to the museum’s annual fund enable CBMM to educate and inspire the next generation of Chesapeake Bay stewards, and can be made online at cbmm.org/donate.
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