Heather Arnet joined the Heckscher Museum of Art as its CEO/Executive Director, in June 2022. The Heckscher Museum of Art is the owner and steward of the Arthur Dove/Helen Torr Cottage situated along the banks of the Titus Mill Pond in Centerport, NY. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a distinguished member of the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Arnet received her B.A. in Literary & Cultural Studies from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Liberal Arts in Museum Studies from Harvard University Extension School and brings an extensive background in the arts and civic engagement to her role as Executive Director & CEO of the Museum. Prior to joining the Museum, Ms. Arnet served for eighteen years as the CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation, a community-based social justice organization dedicated to advancing gender equality. Arnet served as the Co-Chair of the Council for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum and Chair of the Ms. Foundation for Women, founded by Gloria Steinem. She has worked collaboratively with teams at Frick Pittsburgh, August Wilson Center for African American Culture, the Carnegie Museums, and the Andy Warhol Museum to develop arts and civic engagement public programs. In 2023, with support from a Dorothy C. Radgowski Learning Through Women’s Achievement in the Arts Grant, a joint effort of Where Women Made History (WWMH), and HAHS, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Heckscher Museum of Art created a new Soundwalk at the historic Dove/Torr Cottage. On the soundwalk, visitors discover the home and studio of modernists Arthur Dove and Helen Torr in new and unique ways. The self-guided soundwalk reveals the story of the artists and explores the sounds of nature around the property that inspired their art. The audio for this soundwalk was created as part of a community project with Girls Inc. of Long Island and features the voices of participating middle school students who attended a camp during the summer of 2023. Learn more about the community project.