New director takes reins at Glen Ellyn Historical Society

The Glen Ellyn Historical Society has a new history buff at its helm.

Karen Hall, the organization's newest executive director, started work this month. Armed with a master's degree in English, she has worn many hats throughout her career in academia.

Among her previous roles, she was director of the sexual offense prevention and survivors' advocacy program at Antioch College, the director of the Women's Center at Miami University in Ohio and the director of the Women's Resource Office, now known as the Women's Resource Network, at Purdue University.

At her latest gig before coming to Glen Ellyn, Hall was executive director of the Montgomery County Cultural Foundation in Indiana.

Hall has loved history since she was a kid. She said she grew up in New England, an area with a "a great sense of history," and her parents also had "a real appreciation" for the subject.

When she was a youngster, Hall remembers spending Saturdays at a Massachusetts historical society. Her family also would take trips to historic sites.

"We would go out and drive to some of the historic sites and New England is full of historic sites," Hall said. "That was part of what you did, you learned about the people who had come before you and what life was like for them, about the sacrifices they made and how they had worked hard to make it better for us now."

Hall said she is excited about the Glen Ellyn Historical Society's momentum and the commitment she sees from its members and volunteers.

She wants to look to such people to understand the society's future.

"Part of my goal is to enhance what is already ongoing and to see what the members and the volunteers want to do, what direction they want to take this organization in the future so I can help support that," she said.

Hall said she thinks the historical society has an important role for Glen Ellyn residents.

"We're a place of connection," she said, "not just between the present and the past, but we're also building something for generations to come."