Contact us

Sean Charette

Museum Director

A Maine native, Sean has been at the Wendell Gilley Museum since 2017 after moving with his family from Williamstown, Massachusetts. There he spent two years working with three local museums (The Clark, Williams College Museum of Art and MASS MoCA) exploring how the museums could connect with local schools. For the prior eight years, Sean was on the left coast with the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, working internationally with museums and their historic collections. He holds a Masters Degree in Conservation from the University of Durham in Northern England. 

Sean enjoys the flexibility of running a small museum. What he enjoys most about his job is the wealth of creativity that is part of his day with a full-time master artist on staff and a huge community of artists, members, and young people that are the unique Mount Desert Community. Watching certain distinctive seaside birds, like Cormorants and, in warmer climates, Pelicans, is one way Sean connects to nature. He also enjoys hiking, camping, and taking walks with his family and two Rough Collies.

sean@wendellgilleymuseum.org

Tammy Packie

Store Manager & Head of Visitor Services

As the Gilley’s store manager, Tammy strives to find interesting items to help visitors remember their time at the museum, on Mount Desert Island, and in Maine. She enjoys interacting with visitors to the museum and sharing her knowledge of Wendell Gilley’s story, the museum’s collection, and information about our island communities, including birding locations and other great places to visit.

Tammy brings a varied background to the museum with her education, work experience, and hobbies. She holds three degrees in art, radiology, and human ecology. In addition to managing the Gilley’s gift shop, Tammy works at two hospitals and spends as much time outside as possible observing nature. Photography is how Tammy captures the world, including highlighting events and unique aspects of the Gilley, and has earned high accolades for her projects. As for her favorite bird, Tammy enjoys watching the Great Blue Heron hunting in a marsh. In addition to its pre-historic gracefulness, the arrival of the heron signals for Tammy that another winter has passed. Taking slow walks with her camera is Tammy’s favorite way to connect to nature, but with two dogs in tow the walks aren’t always slow!

tammy@wendellgilleymuseum.org

Melinda Rice-Schoon

Director of Engagement & Communications

Melinda Rice-Schoon joined the Wendell Gilley Museum in 2020. As Director of Engagement & Communications she is responsible for programming, press relations and marketing, website and social media, and creative partnerships for the museum. She has more than 25 years of writing and editing experience at newspapers, magazines, and as a freelancer, as well as at nonprofits, along with a decade of experience in events planning and fundraising for nonprofits.

mel@wendellgilleymuseum.org