Each year, Vaillancourt’s Collector’s Weekend offers three days of celebrating traditions while allowing for collectors from around the country a hands-on experience and rare insights into the business of starting traditions. The Saturday Lecture series is one of the weekend’s main events where guest speakers offer their perspective on Christmas, the arts, and traditions. The event, which has seen the likes of professionals and collectors alike lasts throughout the Saturday of Collectors Weekend and is free with advanced registration. This year, the President and CEO of Old Sturbridge Village, Jim Donahue, will be headlining with a discussion on the Village and its Christmas program. To register for the weekend (which includes Painting Workshops and an annual Collector’s Dinner), visit #CollectorsWeekend. The entire schedule of events, including other guest speakers, will be available online over the next few weeks.

About Mr. Donahue

Jim Donahue is highly regarded in the non-profit sector as a collaborative visionary.  He is recognized as one of the top non-profit executives in New England with an impressive background in leadership, education, and fund-raising.

Prior to taking the position as President and CEO for Old Sturbridge Village, Donahue was the CEO of the Bradford Dunn Institute for Learning Differences in Providence, RI. The Institute operates a network of high-quality programs that include The Hasbro Center for Teaching Excellence, the RI Tutorial and Educational Services, and the CVS Highlander Charter School, which Donahue founded in 2000.  Donahue negotiated the merger between the Bradford Dunn Institute and CVS Highlander Charter School in 2004.  During his seven-year tenure as the director of the charter school, he led the renovation of two campuses for the school and the establishment of several key capacity-building partnerships.

Since taking over as OSV President in 2007, Donahue has led the institution through a renaissance by increasing attendance, fund-raising and revenue from special programs. Highlights of his tenure include the reopening of the museum’s restaurant division, the renovation and reopening of the lodging complex, the creation of the Ken Burns Lifetime Achievement Award, establishing an immersive theater program including The Sleepy Hollow Experience,and the expansion of popular events, like Christmas by Candlelight and Fourth of July. In 2017, he launched Old Sturbridge Academy, the first public charter school located at a museum in Massachusetts. A revolutionary model of experiential learning and a partnership between a school and museum, the Academy is already changing the lives of its students, many of whom come from underperforming school districts.

In 2010, he was named nonprofit leader of the year by the Worcester Business Journal, and in 2013 received the Larry Meehan Award from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. He is a member of the American Antiquarian Society, a fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society and has served on the boards of a number of Rhode Island nonprofits including City Year Rhode Island, Providence Summerbridge and Providence City Arts for Youth.

He was elected as an at-large member to the Cranston City Council in 2010, serving through the end of 2012, and served as Chairman of the Allan Fung for Governor Campaign in 2013 and 2014.