David Crosson has joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) as Vice President of Development. Crosson brings a wide range of relevant experience to the position, as a previous marketing and communications campaign strategist who has worked extensively with non-profit advocacy organizations, providing many with fundraising and grant application support. In addition, he has worked in public relations as Senior Vice President for Corporate and International Public Affairs in the Washington office of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide.
Crosson managed high profile, issue-advancement campaigns. He served under General Colin Powell as communications director for the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future—a joint initiative of Presidents Clinton and Bush to generate greater corporate funding and volunteer service for young people in need.
In announcing Crosson’s appointment, CBMM President Langley Shook said, “We’re pleased to welcome Dave. He was selected from a field of more than 80 candidates after a thorough search process that included interviews by more than a dozen senior staff and Governors.” Shook went on to say Crosson’s appointment comes at a critical time in CBMM’s 47-year history. “The museum is blessed to have more than 5,000 members and tens of thousands of visitors each year, yet membership dues and admissions receipts combined provide less than a third of our financial support. We need to build our donor base, and Dave’s got the skills, experience, and passion for our cause to lead these development efforts.”
Crosson’s connections with the sea began early, having worked as deckhand and mate on all manner of craft, including historic coastal schooners, tugs, dredges, and offshore fishing draggers. He’s the owner of a classic wooden sloop that he sailed on the Chesapeake for many years as a CBMM member.
Crosson began his professional career as a journalist reporting, writing, and editing on energy, the environment, healthcare, international trade, and maritime issues for a variety of publications, including Hearst Newspapers, Newsweek, and several McGraw-Hill newsletters and magazines.
In response to his appointment, Crosson said, “I’m lucky. The museum is much more than a repository of artifacts from a disappearing maritime culture. It’s a celebration of values that are as vital today as ever. My aim is to build funding not just to sustain the museum, but to grow it as well.” Crosson is a graduate of Amherst College, BA, English, cum laude. He is the father of two—Dylan, 16, and Margaret, 15, and has recently relocated to Wittman, MD, after living in the Washington, D.C. area for many years.
More information: www.cbmm.org