FEDERATION OF STATE HUMANITIES COUNCILS PRESIDENT ESTHER MACKINTOSH TO RETIRE
July 30, 2019 [Arlington, VA]: The Board of Directors of the Federation of State Humanities Councils announces the retirement of Federation President Esther Mackintosh, effective once a successor is named. The Board will launch their search for the next president in August 2019 with the aim of filling the position by early 2020.
“I’m proud of what the Federation and the state humanities council community have accomplished together over the past several decades and especially these last few years,” Mackintosh said. “I think the stage is well set for the next exciting phase of the Federation’s life, with an exceptional staff and board and an ever-growing array of potential partners.”
The Federation was founded in 1977 as the membership association of the state humanities councils. Mandated by the founding legislation of the National Endowment for the Humanities, state humanities councils were created as nonprofit organizations in the early 1970’s. Originally located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with Steve Weiland as president, the Federation moved its headquarters to Washington, DC in 1986 and appointed Jamil Zainaldin as president. In 1998, Zainaldin was succeeded by Gail Leftwich Kitch, who served until Mackintosh, who had joined as vice president in 1986, was appointed president in 2004.
During Mackintosh’s tenure, the Federation has significantly expanded its national partnerships and has increased the resources made available to councils through grants from the Mellon Foundation, totaling more than $4 million over the past four years. The federal funding allocated to the state humanities councils has also increased by more than $12 million since 2004, due in part to the Federation’s advocacy efforts. During Mackintosh’s leadership, the Federation has forged strong relationships with the academic humanities communities and in 2015, the Federation and the National Humanities Alliance initiated a partnership to cohost the Federation’s annual conference, expanding it to include members of both organizations and other humanities professionals. Attendance at the conference has subsequently grown from approximately 350 participants to more than 600.
Federation Board Chair Bill Tsutsui said, in announcing Mackintosh’s retirement to the Federation’s members, “I cannot begin to list all the ways in which she has earned our deepest respect and most sincere thanks. She has been an inspiration and mentor for generations of executive directors, board members, and staffers, and she has nurtured the relationships, partnerships, and collaborations that have brought the Federation to a place of unprecedented organizational capacity, financial stability, public profile, and concrete impact.”
Mackintosh received her PhD in American Literature from Kansas State University in 1980 and worked in magazine publishing before joining the Federation. She will remain with the Federation until her successor is named, which the board anticipates will be in early 2020.
