Administration

Bruce Eldredge | Wally Reber | Bob Pickering

Bruce Eldredge

Executive Director
Phone: 307.578.4069 - Fax: 307.587.5714
brucee@bbhc.org

Bruce Eldredge became the Executive Director and CEO of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center on January 28, 2008. Before coming to Cody, he served as the CEO of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane, Washington.

Eldredge has more than 30 years experience in the museum field. Among his accomplishments at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture are launching a 15-year, $20 million endowment campaign; revitalizing the American Indian Cultural Council and Center for Plateau Cultural Studies; receiving a direct federal appropriation of $450,000 in 2001 for the American Indian Plateau Center’s Web site technology; and receiving a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to boost the endowment campaign.

A consummate museum professional, Eldredge directed several institutions devoted to the American West prior to his stint in Washington. He led the Hubbard Museum of the American West in Ruidoso, New Mexico; the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas; the Tucson Museum of Art in Tucson, Arizona; and the Frederic Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg, New York.

Eldredge’s other museum experience includes director positions at the Schenectady Museum in Schenectady, New York, the Portsmouth Museums of Portsmouth, Virginia; the Muskegon Museum of Art in Muskegon, Michigan; and the Geneva Historical Society in Geneva, New York. He also served as research associate in the Capital District Humanities Program, State University of New York at Albany.

Eldredge holds a bachelor’s degree in American history and geography from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in museum administration from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He has participated in a number of workshops and fellowships focused on the non-profit world, cultural institutions, museum management, and leadership, including the Getty Leadership Institute.  He has been involved in numerous professional organization and currently serves on the Board of the Western Association of Museums and as a MAP I and MAP Governance reviewer for the American Association of Museums.

While a college student, Eldredge completed internships at the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum in Rochester, New York; the Long Island/Brooklyn Historical Society in New York; and the Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence. He was also a student assistant in the Archives and Special Collections of Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio.

AREAS OF RESPOPNSIBILITY/EXPERTISE

• Chief Executive Officer
• Overall leadership and guidance for BBHC activities, programming, and fundraising
• Liaison between staff and BBHC Board of Trustees
• Planning and Policy Development
• Financial planning and development