Leadership
The Adams Presidential Center Board of Directors is a cross-partisan panel of local and national leaders in government, academia, and business. Board members are united by their shared commitment to open dialogue and a desire to inspire everyday citizens to embrace their responsibilities to our nation.
Board of Directors
Officers
General Joseph F. Dunford, USMC (ret.)
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Chairman of the Board
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Senior Managing Director, Liberty Strategic Capital
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Chairman, Semper Fi & America’s Fund Board
Katherine Craven
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Treasurer of the Board
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Chairwoman, Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
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Chief Administrative & Financial Officer, Babson College
Members
Benjamin C. Adams
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Vice Chairman, Massachusetts Historical Society Board of Trustees
Danielle Allen
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James Bryant Conant University Professor, Harvard University
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Director, Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard Kennedy School
Rob Hale
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Chief Executive Officer, Granite Telecommunications
The Honorable Kerry Healey
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Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth (2003-2007)
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President, Milken Institute’s Center for Advancing the American Dream
Edward J. Keohane
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Chairman, Keohane Funeral Home
Sam Slater
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Director, Slater Foundation
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Managing Partner, Tremont Asset Management LLC
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Co-founder & Partner, Burn Later Productions
The Honorable William D. Delahunt (1941-2024), Board Member In Memorium
United States Congressman (1997-2011)
Congressman Bill Delahunt was a and a Quincy native and a founding member of the APC board. He believed that the APC is “really consequential not just because it honors the two presidents and their wives who contributed so much to this country, but… because they lived in a turbulent age much like we are right now. There are many that feel…that we’re at a critical moment in terms of our history where…our democracy is at risk…for democracy to be successful there has to be a well-informed and engaged citizenry and this center can be a piece of that.”
Delahunt intimately understood the importance of engaged citizenship; he dedicated his life to public service. He served the 10th congressional district of Massachusetts for seven terms in Congress, from 1996 to 2011. Admired on both sides of aisle for his success at forwarding bipartisan legislation, Delahunt forwarded the Intercountry Adoption Act, which provided automatic citizenship to Americans adopted abroad. As the Congressman said, “To make progress, you need to search out and discern the humanity of the other…In some, that humanity is overwhelmed by dark angels. But if you explore long enough, if you listen long enough, if you persist, you can interact with anybody. What’s important to them? What makes them feel right? Let them explain themselves. Accomplishment in the end is a result of this understanding.”
Delahunt’s political career began when he was elected to the Quincy City Council in 1971 and as a state representative in 1973. Two years later, Governor Michael Dukakis appointed Delahunt District Attorney of Norfolk county, where he developed the county’s first juvenile diversion program, special unit focused on sexual assault and child abuse, domestic violence program, white collar crime unit, and career criminal unit. He also incorporated social workers into his office, balancing incarceration with rehabilitation programs.
General Joseph F. Dunford, USMC (ret.)
Chairman of the Board
United States Marine Corps
19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
36th Commandant of the Marine Corps
General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. served as the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer. In this role, he was the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council from 2015 to 2019.
General Dunford was commissioned in 1977 and served as an infantry officer at all levels, to include commanding the 5th Marine Regiment during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served as the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and Commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Raised in the Merrymount section of Quincy, Massachusetts, General Dunford attended St. Ann’s School in Wollaston and graduated from Boston College High School and Saint Michael’s College. He also earned master’s degrees in Government from Georgetown University and in International Relations from Tufts University.
In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board for the Adams Presidential Center and Foundation, General Dunford currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the Semper Fi Fund & America’s Fund which supports our wounded, ill, and injured active duty personnel and veterans from all services. He is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bessemer Securities, the Atlantic Council, and the Travis Manion Foundation. He is the Co-Chairman of the Japan-U.S. Military Stateman Forum.
Richard P. Mahoney
Interim Executive Director
Rich Mahoney is the inaugural leader of the Adams Presidential Center and has led the project since inception. He has overseen all planning as the project has evolved from a vision to one that is being executed upon.
He works alongside the Board of Directors and a team of consultants on fundraising, educational programming, exhibition design, and all of the stages a startup nonprofit goes through. A Quincy native, Mr. Mahoney finds it a privilege to honor John, John Quincy, Abigail, and Louisa Catherine Adams in the city they called home.
Mr. Mahoney has deep experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. He consulted to Year Up and helped them expand nationally. Year Up has grown to be the most impactful workforce development model in the country. Prior to his nonprofit work, Mr. Mahoney was a Managing Director for Phoenix Growth Capital and a Vice President at GE Capital.
Kathleen Hussey O'Brien
Vice President of Donor Relations
Kathleen Hussey O’Brien is a passionate non-profit marketing and fundraising professional. A strategic mind with unparalleled commercial acumen, O’Brien produces tangible mission-driven outcomes on innovative projects. She excels at facilitating experiential in-person and online programming, cultivating major donors, courting corporate philanthropy, and increasing digital media engagement. O’Brien is a veteran of the events marketing industry, where she produced events around the globe for tech, healthcare, and telecom industries.
Outside of her work at the APC, O’Brien serves on Quincy College’s Business Board and Providence College’s Alumni Committee.
O’Brien grew up in Merrymount, a close-knit neighborhood in Quincy, Massachusetts where she still resides with her four wonderful children, Kelli, Mikaela, Paul, Brendan, and Aussie Mountain Doodle Reggie.
The Adams Presidential Center is excited to collaborate with the Massachusetts Historical Society. Together, we’re providing the public with even greater access to the Adams Family Papers and other noteworthy artifacts from the MHS collection.
The APC will not only feature objects from the collection in permanent exhibits and programs, but it will also provide the Society with its own exhibition area at the Center. By co-developing educational initiatives, we will inspire responsible citizenship and teach information literacy. Our joint curricular, programming, and exhibit efforts will help both institutions promote a fuller understanding of the Adams family’s legacy.
Museum Planning and Design Partners
Careers
Interested in learning more about future career opportunities with the Adams Presidential Center? If you think you would be a good fit as we start to grow the team, we’d like to hear more about your experience and interest. Reach out and introduce yourself today!