Hayti Heritage Center seeks Executive Director

Organization

The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. (SJHF), founded in 1975, is deeply rooted in Durham’s historic Hayti community. The once-thriving business and residential district was dubbed Black Wall Street by Booker T. Washington. That same year, the Hayti Heritage Center opened under SJHF’s management. Hayti Heritage Center is a cultural enrichment and arts education facility that promotes understanding through diverse events, activities, and programs that preserve the heritage and celebrate the experiences of Americans of African descent.

In the 1970s, when the St. Joseph’s African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church congregation moved to a new home, the original structure became the catalyst for the formation of the St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation (SJHF), which sought to preserve the embellished old sanctuary and adapt it for community, cultural, and civic events. SJHF’s mission is to preserve and advance the heritage and culture of historic Hayti and the African American experience through programs that benefit the broader community locally, nationally, and globally. The 34,000-square-foot church complex, renamed the Hayti Heritage Center, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Descendants of the neighborhood’s original residents continue to visit Hayti Heritage Center, along with other community members and visitors from surrounding areas.

SJHF’s goals are to consistently present high-quality cultural arts programs related to the African American experience, promote cross-cultural understanding between isolated and underserved communities, and foster intercultural support. Its mission is carried out through relevant, engaging, enlightening, and enriching programs in cultural arts and education. The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation/Hayti Heritage Center remains an agent of social change, with a long-term commitment to using the arts as a conduit for bringing communities together and establishing common ground among diverse cultures. SJHF also provides the local community and patrons at large with signature programs and other events throughout the year. Starting in 2026, Hayti Heritage Center’s programming spans music, dance, theatre, dialogue, a film festival, and a business expo.

Hayti Heritage Center is currently led by Interim Executive Director King Kenney. It is governed by a ten-member Board of Trustees, chaired by President Tarryn Henry. The executive director oversees a staff of three full-time and four part-time employees, including an artistic director, operations manager, marketing and guest experience specialist, ARPA coordinator, bookkeeper, community outreach coordinator, and site ambassadors. Hayti Heritage Center’s fiscal year 2026 operating budget is $1.24 million, with 30% from program revenue, 43% from contributed revenue (including individual donors), and 27% from grants and city support.

Community

Durham, North Carolina, is a welcoming, vibrant, diverse, and fast-growing city of roughly 300,000 residents and part of the larger Triangle region, home to more than 2.4 million residents. The tenth-fastest-growing metropolitan region in the country, Durham is anchored by world-class universities, a robust research and health care sector, and a thriving technology industry. Durham also offers a strong cultural, educational, and entertainment base. Its celebrated food scene, energetic start-up culture, and nationally recognized arts sector help fuel an annual $232 million in economic activity from nonprofit arts and culture alone. With 134 nonprofit cultural organizations, thousands of creative professionals, and premier venues such as the Durham Performing Arts Center, American Dance Festival, and Carolina Theatre, the city has established itself as a cultural hub in North Carolina.

Durham’s identity is rooted in both innovation and preservation. The city’s tobacco-era warehouses have been transformed into bustling districts like American Tobacco, Brightleaf Square, and Golden Belt, which blend historic character with modern amenities. Outdoor recreation is plentiful, from city parks and cultural heritage sites to riverside trails. A diverse housing market, competitive wages, and a moderate cost of living make Durham attractive to professionals, families, and creatives alike. Proximity to Duke University, North Carolina Central University, UNC–Chapel Hill, and NC State University strengthens the city’s intellectual and economic vitality.

Within this dynamic city lies Hayti, a historically Black community that was once a thriving center of African American business, culture, and social life. Founded in the late nineteenth century by African Americans migrating to Durham to work in the booming tobacco industry, Hayti quickly became one of the most vibrant and self-sustaining Black communities in the United States. Families first rented, then purchased land, building homes, businesses, and civic institutions that would define the neighborhood for generations and provide hope for the future.

Two great pillars - St. Joseph’s AME Church and White Rock Baptist Church anchored the community spiritually and socially. By the early twentieth century, Hayti’s Fayetteville Street bustled with commerce, powered by pioneering Black-owned enterprises like North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, the largest Black-owned business in the world at the time. The neighborhood earned national recognition as part of Durham’s famed Black Wall Street, a center of African American economic and cultural life where Black entrepreneurship thrived, civic leaders flourished, and the arts were celebrated. Entertainment venues such as the Regal Theater, Wonderland Theater, and Biltmore Hotel engaged the community with music, film, and performance. Hayti was a place where opportunity, culture, and community intertwined. Demonstrating entrepreneurship, resilience, and vision, the neighborhood became a national model of success, often called “the capital of the Black Middle Class” and “the City on the Hill for Blacks.”

The 1960s brought profound change. Urban renewal projects and the construction of the Durham Freeway dismantled much of the physical neighborhood, displacing businesses and families. Since that time, Hayti has diligently worked to support the community, provide arts and educational opportunities, serve as a gathering place, and create diverse intergenerational experiences. Today, Hayti is centered along Fayetteville Street near downtown Durham, with historic homes, churches, and cultural landmarks standing alongside newer housing and redevelopment projects. While still a predominantly African American neighborhood, Hayti faces both revitalization efforts and challenges related to growth and displacement, reflecting its ongoing role in Durham’s cultural and civic identity.

Sources:opendurham.org/category/neighborhood/hayti; haytireborn.com/history

Position Summary

The Executive Director will set Hayti Heritage Center’s strategic vision. This role will require a results-driven leader with a proven record in fundraising, donor cultivation, and major investment, as well as the vision to expand Hayti Heritage Center’s presence locally, regionally, and nationally. The executive director will oversee all operations, finances, programming, and staff while serving as the organization’s primary spokesperson and ambassador. Key priorities will include increasing revenue, building strong community and stakeholder partnerships, elevating Hayti Heritage Center’s profile, and ensuring the preservation and enhancement of its facilities. This position will offer an opportunity for a leader deeply committed to investing in both the history and the future of the Hayti neighborhood, strengthening its role as a cultural and economic anchor in Durham.

Roles and Responsibilities

Visionary Leadership and Fiscal Management

• Provide the vision and strategy for Hayti Heritage Center to expand its reach locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Foster a culture of innovation to generate new ideas, concepts, and strategies that amplify the heritage and culture of historic Hayti and the African American experience.
• Inspire a collaborative organizational structure that cultivates cohesive, creative, communicative, and productive partnerships among internal and external stakeholders.
• Assess strategic priorities, resources, and direction thorough analysis of program success, performance, financial position, ongoing relevance, and mission achievement.
• Guide the artistic director in developing and delivering high-quality, mission-based programs and services that respond to the needs of the Hayti community.
• Partner with the bookkeeper to oversee financial operations, ensuring accurate and timely procedures, monthly and year-end reporting, and audit compliance.
• Direct cash-flow management and resource allocation.
• Develop and monitor annual organizational and departmental budgets in collaboration with the board of directors and staff.
• Embrace other visionary leadership and fiscal management responsibilities as needed.

Fundraising and Stewardship

• Provide strategic oversight and leadership for fundraising activities, ensuring alignment with mission and growth goals.
• Construct development strategies in partnership with the director of development to create an ambitious and comprehensive development plan and calendar with clearly defined goals, objectives, timelines, and assigned responsibilities.
• Maintain a personal portfolio of donors and successfully cultivate and solicit major gifts from diverse groups of individuals, corporations, and foundations, ensuring appropriate stewardship of donors at all levels.
• Establish and model clear standards that ensure donors see the value and impact of their support through stewardship, donor recognition, with particular emphasis on the goal of donor retention.
• Understand and clearly articulate Hayti Heritage Center’s mission, history, programs, values, and policies to cultivate and enhance authentic relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships throughout the region.
• Embrace other fundraising and stewardship responsibilities as needed.

Community Engagement

• Serve as a spokesperson engaging with a wide variety of constituents, including business owners; schools and colleges; elected city, county, and state officials; and the media to promote Hayti Heritage Center’s vision, brand, and reputation, both locally and nationally.
• Collaborate and cultivate relationships with community organizations, cultural institutions, individuals, business owners, schools and colleges, elected officials, and community leaders in creating meaningful and long-lasting partnerships to reinforce the center’s role as a regional asset.
• Raise awareness, contribute to community revitalization, and assist in a change of perception in the broader Durham community of the culture and the people of Hayti through innovative programming and experiences.
• Embrace other community engagement duties as needed.

Board Development and Governance

• Build a deep partnership with the Board of Directors and staff to support the advancement of the Hayti Heritage Center while honoring its legacy and charting a course for a dynamic future.
• Work with the board and staff to engineer and drive strategies in fundraising, resource development, marketing, and communications to significantly enhance revenues and create a wider base of support from the community.
• Provide accurate, timely performance data and reports for the board, funders, and stakeholders.
• Embrace other board development and governance duties as needed.

Personnel and Facilities Management

• Recruit, screen, hire, train, and evaluate staff and specialized contract teams, ensuring that all personnel policies, benefits, practices, and training are implemented and supported.
• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, and attract and retain high-performing staff and volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.
• Lead the development and implementation of innovative strategies to secure funding and resources for major capital upgrades, ensuring that Hayti Heritage Center’s facilities remain state-of-the-art and fully equipped to serve the community’s needs.
• Embrace other personnel and facilities management responsibilities as needed.

Traits and Characteristics

The Executive Director will be a charismatic unifier who collaborates and connects with the community, staff, board, and stakeholders. This mission-driven individual will bring rigor and self-starting finesse to the role, along with a high degree of diplomacy, emotional intelligence, and a strong commitment to innovation. The Executive Director will be a thought leader in Durham and beyond, inspiring the team and the region through a public, visible presence.

Other key competencies include the following:

• Personal Accountability and Self-starting – The ability to demonstrate initiative and a willingness to pursue a vision while being answerable for personal actions.
• Project Management & Time and Priority Management – The dexterity to identify and oversee tasks, systems, and people while allocating time and resources to deliver desired outcomes within planned and measured time.
• Diplomacy and Flexibility – The integrity to work effectively with diverse constituents, handling competing priorities while readily modifying, responding, and adapting to change.
• Understanding Others – An affinity for and strong commitment to uplifting African American and underserved communities, serving as a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Qualifications

A minimum of five years of experience in nonprofit leadership is required, along with a proven record of strategic leadership and direct experience in fundraising, community engagement, and implementation in comparable community service organizations. Demonstrated knowledge of event planning, fundraising, community engagement, human relations, and nonprofit financial management and governance practices is preferred. The ability to engage diverse communities, audiences, and stakeholders at local, regional, statewide, and national levels is essential. A deep commitment to African American and Black arts and culture, with a focus on Southern or diasporic contexts, is highly valued.

Compensation and Benefits

Hayti Heritage Center offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including an annual salary range of $110,000 to $125,000. Full-time employees are eligible for benefits, which include medical and dental insurance, paid time off, personal leave, holidays, and life insurance.

Applications and Inquiries

To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments, please visit https://artsconsulting.com/opensearches/hayti-heritage-center-seeks-executive-director/

Email Hayti@ArtsConsulting.com

Hayti Heritage Center/St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Hayti Heritage Center is committed to Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion.

Full-time employees are eligible for benefits, which include medical and dental insurance, paid time off, personal leave, holidays, and life insurance.