Museum executive · Historian · Nonprofit leader
Building stronger cultural institutions—and making history more accessible, useful, and relevant to the communities they serve.
About
Jody Blankenship is a museum executive and public historian whose career has centered on helping cultural institutions clarify their purpose, broaden their reach, and build the financial and organizational strength to serve future generations.
As president and chief executive officer of the Indiana Historical Society, Jody leads a statewide museum, library, research, publishing, and educational institution. His work spans strategic planning, fundraising, endowment stewardship, collections, exhibitions, education, publishing, digital content, facilities, hospitality, earned revenue, and administration.
Across leadership roles in Indiana, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Ohio, he has built partnerships, strengthened finances, expanded access to collections, and created more audience-centered approaches to public history. His leadership combines a historian’s regard for evidence with an executive’s focus on people, purpose, and durable results.
Selected impact
Selected work has protected institutional assets, expanded philanthropic capacity, opened collections to wider audiences, and positioned organizations for long-term independence.
Led, with the Board Chair, negotiations that transferred the land beneath the Indiana Historical Society’s headquarters and adjacent parking lot from state to private IHS ownership—resolving a major operating risk and securing control of the downtown campus.
Led the adoption of an organization holding exceptional early and first-edition documents in American and Western history, including copies of the Magna Carta and early printings of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.
At the Connecticut Historical Society, helped grow investments from approximately $35 million to $56 million while maintaining balanced budgets and increasing annual fundraising from roughly $375,000 to more than $1.5 million.
At CHS, expanded annual exhibitions from three to nine, increased public hours, accelerated collections cataloging, and created new pathways for communities, students, and researchers to use historical materials.
Experience
More than two decades of progressively responsible leadership in museums, historical organizations, education, collections, and statewide public service.
Indiana Historical Society · Indianapolis, Indiana
Provides strategic and operational leadership for an $8 million-plus statewide institution, aligning collections, scholarship, exhibitions, publishing, programs, and digital content around shared audience and mission goals.
Connecticut Historical Society · Hartford, Connecticut
Led a statewide institutional transformation that strengthened customer service, collections access, public programming, partnerships, inclusion, fundraising, and financial sustainability.
Kentucky Historical Society · Frankfort, Kentucky
Led the move to a skills-based, learner-centered educational model; secured $1.2 million in grants; and developed mobile and digital platforms serving educators, tourists, and community historians.
Ohio Historical Society · Columbus, Ohio
Advanced through archival, curatorial, and outreach roles to lead statewide educational and capacity-building programs for students, educators, museums, and public-history professionals.
Current work
At the Indiana Historical Society, Jody is advancing a more integrated, statewide approach to content, engagement, partnerships, and long-term sustainability.
Connecting collections, scholarship, exhibitions, publishing, public programs, community engagement, and digital content around clear audience and mission goals.
Building partnerships and experiences that make Indiana history useful and accessible to learners, families, researchers, and communities across the state.
Diversifying revenue, strengthening philanthropic relationships, developing new business lines, and aligning resources with long-term priorities.
Visit the Indiana Historical Society ↗Education
Selected scholarship