Welcome Laura Duquette

Please join us in welcoming Laura Duquette as our new General Manager at The Sailing Museum & National Sailing Hall of Fame. Laura’s proven record of strengthening financial and inventory controls, improving forecasting accuracy, and building accountable, collaborative teams makes her exceptionally well-suited to lead this next chapter. Her connection to New England’s maritime community further underscores her alignment with our mission and the values we champion.

Laura has already logged considerable hours as she orients to her new role. “I’m thrilled to join The Sailing Museum & National Sailing Hall of Fame as General Manager.  There is tremendous opportunity to create sustainable revenue growth for the organization – growing memberships, increasing ticket visitation, and expanding our events program – while continuing to deliver an engaging, high-quality visitor experience. I look forward to connecting with our membership and the sailing community as we work to honor our legends and grow the sport of sailing.”

A recent review of our operational and financial needs made clear that our next phase of growth requires leadership centered on business operations, earned revenue, and financial accountability. With a strong curatorial foundation already in place, our focus now is on operational discipline, consistent visitor experience, and strategic growth across ticketing, retail, membership and venue rentals—areas that require expertise in revenue management and customer-focused operations. To meet these needs, we realigned our senior leadership structure and created the General Manager role to drive measurable performance, efficiency, and long-term stability through data-driven business practices.

Laura’s background in sales operations, customer experience, forecasting, retail management, e-commerce optimization and team leadership aligns directly with the Museum & Hall of Fame’s operational imperatives.  As she settles in, Laura has already demonstrated a strong sense of urgency and an impressive ability to quickly assess systems, streamline processes and bring organizational clarity to daily operations.

Co-President Thomas Stark shared his enthusiasm about the appointment: “We are excited to have a Rhode Island local, enthusiastic sailor, and highly experienced business professional join us as General Manager. Laura brings an outstanding skill set, genuine enthusiasm, and a commitment to excellence that will elevate everything we do.” This leadership transition strengthens our fiscal stability and operational clarity, positioning The Sailing Museum & National Sailing Hall of Fame for sustainable growth, enhanced visitor engagement and continued community impact.