March 4, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
New job: Michael C. Quinn, 59, will become president of the American Revolution Center on April 1. He will oversee the fundraising and planning of the organization’s Museum of the American Revolution, to be located in Philadelphia’s historic district. The organization plans to break ground on the new building next year and open it by early 2016.
Background: Mr. Quinn has led the Montpelier Foundation since 1999, an organization that manages the education center and historic estate of President James Madison. Previously, Mr. Quinn served as director of education and then deputy director of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, which operates Mount Vernon, George Washington’s historic estate and education center. He has worked as head of the D.C. Preservation League and as a preservation planner for the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Education: He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia, a master of arts from Yale University, and a master’s in business administration from George Mason University.
Why he wanted the job: Historical organizations like the American Revolution Center are important because “they’re a place to encounter the real, authentic history of us as a people, and that’s an education that is incredibly relevant in today’s world,” says Mr. Quinn. “To meaningfully engage in today’s world, you need to understand the past.”
Salary: $275,000
His favorite founding father: “It’s impossible to choose one,” he says. “Washington was the indispensible man capable of leading others; Jefferson’s writings inspired the nation; Madison’s genius supplied the main ideas for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and the others contributed other important factors. It took a combination of geniuses to make it all happen.”
