Endowment for Humanities has new leadership

With unanimous vote of the Board of Directors, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) has named Miranda Restovic as the organization’s new President and Executive Director. Restovic will take the helm of the statewide agency after serving a year as its Interim President and Executive Director. She is expected to assume her new leadership role immediately.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce the successful conclusion of our national search for the next leader of the LEH. I especially wish to thank the Executive Search Committee, chaired by Liz Mangham, Managing Partner, Southern Strategy Group, for leading this very important process.” said Michael Bernstein, LEH Board Chair. “Of the many qualified candidates, Miranda emerged as the right choice to lead the LEH forward with the desired mix of visionary leadership, collaborative orientation, and pragmatic business savvy.”
Restovic becomes the first female to serve in the position of President and Executive Director in the 44-year history of the LEH, a leading humanities agency in Louisiana, and an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Restovic will report to the twenty-six member volunteer Board of Directors, and manage a sixteen member staff. “I know the members of the state humanities councils across the country join me congratulating the LEH board on this brilliant selection,” said Esther Mackintosh, President of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. “We admire Miranda’s energy and creativity, and we look forward to working with her in this leadership capacity.”
Restovic began her professional career at the LEH nine years ago. She has served as LEH Deputy Director, as well as Director of the LEH’s PRIME TIME Family Reading Time program. A nationally-recognized, outcomes-driven program, PRIME TIME is the longest running and most effective humanities-focused family literacy model in the nation, serving families in all 64 parishes of Louisiana, and in 40 other states, since 1991. Restovic holds a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of New Orleans, as well as a Bachelors of Arts in International Relations and Italian from Mount Holyoke College.
LEH is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities to all residents of the state. Our mission is to provide access to, and an appreciation of, Louisiana’s rich, shared, and diverse historical, literary, and cultural heritage through: grant-supported outreach programs; early childhood education, family literacy, and adult reading initiatives; Louisiana Cultural Vistas, its award-winning quarterly magazine; KnowLA.org, the Digital Encyclopedia of Louisiana; teacher professional development institutes; publications; film and radio documentaries; museum exhibitions; public lectures; library projects; and other diverse public humanities programming. Since 1971, the LEH has been the organizational standard-bearer for historical, cultural, and needs-driven, outcomes-based educational programming, across all 64 Louisiana parishes