The Woodstock Foundation has announced the retirement of President David Simmons at the end of 2025, marking nearly 12 years of service at Billings Farm & Museum and The Woodstock Foundation and culminating a museum career that spans more than 40 years.
According to a press release, Simmons began his tenure at Billings Farm & Museum in 2014, serving as museum vice president. In 2016, he was promoted to executive director, and in 2018, Simmons also became president of the Woodstock Foundation and a Foundation trustee.
The release said that during Simmons’ tenure in Woodstock, Billings Farm & Museum attendance has grown from 52,000 to more than 70,000; museum campus improvements have included a state-of-the-art vault for the Foundation archives, a heifer barn with rooftop solar panels, a new learning kitchen, and renovation of the activity barn. Daytime and after-hours visitor programming has greatly expanded, and in partnership with the Woodstock Inn & Resort, museum grounds now include the Sunflower House and the Billings Farmstead Gardens.
David Simmons. Photo provided.
Simmons commented, “Guided by a new mission and set of organizational values, I am grateful to our talented and forward-thinking staff who are propelling the farm and museum toward a very positive future: continuing to increase relevancy and meaning for our guests in years to come. A strategic framework and interpretive master plan are helping guide the way. With a solid vision and compelling stories to share, I know the Farm & Museum has a very bright future.”
He added, “I am similarly confident in and inspired by the work and vision of The Woodstock Foundation, which helps make Woodstock so very special through its support of Billings Farm & Museum, the Woodstock Inn & Resort, and the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. It has been my great honor to have served in my dual roles to uphold and expand upon the profound legacies and vision of Frederick Billings, Laurance, and Mary Rockefeller.”
“The Trustees of the Foundation and Billings Farm & Museum congratulate David Simmons on his retirement,” noted Jim Sligar, board chair of the Woodstock Foundation. “We are deeply grateful that he has led the organization for 12 years. We, the staff, and the Woodstock community have greatly benefited from his consistent, committed leadership, experience, intelligence, knowledge, and open and supportive style. We will miss him in this role, but are happy that he and Barbara will continue to make Woodstock their home.”
According to the release, working with the Development Guild of Boston, the Board of the Woodstock Foundation is conducting a national search for the next leader of Billings Farm & Museum. Simmons will assist in the transition and will maintain his association with The Woodstock Foundation as Trustee Emeritus.
