The Eastside Heritage Center recently announced the hire of Josh Gannis as its new executive director.

With a start date of Aug. 2, Gannis will lead the center in its mission to preserve and share the history of East King County. He joins the team after a nine month regional search and strategic planning.

“I’m overjoyed at becoming the Eastside Heritage Center’s new executive director,” Gannis said in the announcement. “I have been impressed and humbled by the passion and energy of all the board members, staff and volunteers I have met.”

Gannis comes from The Mountaineers as the youth education manager and served as the program director at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center for their partnership program with the Pacific Science Center and city of Bellevue prior to that.

For more than seven years, he was the associate director of the Crissy Field Center of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. There, he led a nationally acclaimed program designed to engage under-served residents of the San Francisco Bay community with the natural and cultural resources of the national park. That work helped the National Park Service in the Pacific region to create more inclusive programming and outreach strategies.

Gannis has 13 years of leading museum and educational nonprofit organizations. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Central Connecticut State University and a master’s degree in U.S. constitutional history from San Francisco State University.

He also has skills in grant writing and partnership-building.

“The EHC remains very grateful for the 11 years that Heather Trescases was our executive director, and we are excited as we look to the future with Josh as our new executive director,” board President Rick Carlson said in the announcement. “Additionally, we believe that our new trustees, Mike Johnson, Jerry O’Day and Bruce Morgan will add additional depth and support for EHC’s growth.”

The Eastside Heritage Center maintains and preserves the largest collection of East King County-based heritage. With more than 60,000 artifacts, photos and archival material, the organization is focused on sharing this collection through outreach, exhibits, presentations, and a wide variety of educational programs.

The Eastside Heritage Center invites the community to welcome Gannis. To contact Gannis, email him at director@eastsideheritagecenter.org.