LESLIE HESTER

Leslie Hester  is employed by the City of Blytheville as Founding Director and sole staff member at Delta Gateway Museum.  The museum is housed in the historic  S. H. Kress department store building on Main Street, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.Leslie holds a Master’s degree in History and a Master’s degree in Heritage Studies with a Museum Specialty, both from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.  She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications at the University of Memphis.Before coming to Blytheville, Leslie worked at the Arkansas State University Museum, where she co-curated the exhibit  Portals of the Soul: Ancient Peoples of Northeast Arkansas  currently on display.  She has 22 years of experience in non-profit management and 8 years of experience in museum management.Leslie serves on the Board of Directors for the Arkansas Museums Association and for Arkansas Delta Byways.She is a member of the Organization of American Historians, the Arkansas Historical Society, the American Alliance of Museums, the Arkansas Museums Association, and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.

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