After a yearlong search, the Witte Museum found its new leader right under its nose. Dirk Elmendorf has been a member of the Witte’s board of trustees for more than a decade, including a term as board chair, and now takes the helm as president and CEO.
Elmendorf succeeds Marise McDermott, who announced June 1 that she would step down after 20 years in the leadership position.
Elmendorf co-founded Rackspace in 1999 and brings a wealth of experience with innovative technology to his new position. As a board member, he volunteered to build a new online ticketing system for the museum in 2016 and helped create the Witte Where You Are program to continue the museum’s mission during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns by sending artifacts to educational institutions around San Antonio.
Working in the tech sector, where such pivots and innovation are necessary, informed Elmendorf’s singular perspective on the Witte’s potential.
“One of the things that really struck me when I joined the Witte 11 years ago was that they were sitting on this huge repository of content,” he said, citing the museum’s collection of 325,000 artifacts. But given the limitations of physical space, only 2% of the collection can be on view at any time.
One initiative Elmendorf has contributed to is Texas Museums 360, an educational platform he described as a “digital doorway” to the museum’s holdings that he said will be ready for students throughout the state by the end of the year, opening doors to much more of the Witte’s collections.
Long an advocate for education, Elmendorf has embraced the Witte’s purpose. “Our mission is to shape the future of Texas through continuous learning and engaging experiences in science and history,” he said.
And while the museum’s holdings are based on history and pre-history, he said, “putting it in context for now is what makes it magical.”
When Elmendorf starts Jan. 1, his first initiative will be to meet every member of the museum staff. When McDermott stepped aside, she praised her team as the “best in the nation,” and Elmendorf said as a board member he has observed that “their processes and the things they do are what make the Witte great.” Among his goals will be to “figure out how do I get stuff out of their way, or get them better resources to do more.”
In an announcement to media, current board chair Ryan Berg praised Elmendorf’s decade-long commitment to the Witte’s mission and said he expects the new leader to “build on the current momentum and bridge where we’ve been with where we’re going.”
McDermott’s term ends Dec. 31. Thereafter, she will become president emeritus to work on a publication honoring the Witte’s 100th anniversary in 2026.
Elmendorf said McDermott has made such an imprint on the Witte Museum that he sees her as a founder and that “she is in her own class.” He said his focus will be on “how can we get it to the next level and really see the next 100 years.”
