Our Staff

RANEY BENCH Executive Director

Raney Bench is passionate about the power of the past and how history impacts our daily lives. She has built a career in small museum work and loves to see people light up when they encounter an interesting or surprising object or artifact. Raney has worked in several small New England museums in education, exhibits, collections management, and as an Executive Director.

She and her husband fell in love with Mount Desert Island while on vacation in 1998 and were fortunate to move here in 2007. Raney graduated with a BA in Native American Studies from Humboldt State University and an MA in Museum Studies from the University of Nebraska. She and her husband are raising two active boys, plus care for a small menagerie of adopted furry critters. Contact Raney about organizational information, exhibits, or writing for Chebacco.

PATRICK CALLAWAY Collections Manager

Dr. Patrick Callaway earned his Doctorate in History from the University of Maine in 2019.  His research focuses on the economic connections between the United States and the British Empire in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  He earned is MA in History from Montana State University in 2008, and his BS in Secondary Education from the University of Montana-Western in 2005. Contact Patrick to schedule an appointment to access our archives, or for research, donating items, and what’s in our collection.

JEN HEINDEL Collections Assistant

Jen Heindel processes incoming collections, sorting, digitizing, and entering them into our collections database. She also works behind the scenes to organize and make our other collections more accessible. During the summer months, she staffs our Somesville Museum. Contact Jen to schedule an appointment to access our archives or for research.

LEAH LUCEY Director of Finance and Administration

Leah has been a staff member of the MDI Historical Society since 2018 and has enjoyed being a part of the organization’s evolution. Contact Leah about donations and membership, bookkeeping, accounts payable, gifts of securities, and wire transfers.

LISA TAPLIN MURRAY Assistant Director

Lisa believes that dynamic public history programs contribute to a holistic understanding of the issues, traditions, and stories interwoven into our communities, fostering a deeper understanding of our present culture and options for the future. Lisa joined the team in 2022, bringing a career in public libraries and grant writing to the role. She has a BA in English from Pitzer College and studied Library and Information Sciences at the University of Maine. Contact Lisa about marketing/PR, our digital history tour, programs, museum visitation, and campus use.