ADAMS — The Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum is searching for a new executive director following the departure of James Capuzzi, who concluded his tenure on Wednesday after nearly two years.

Capuzzi, who became executive director in September 2023, will be relocating to Louisiana to work for Catholic Charities as a donor engagement manager. He chose to leave the position to move closer to family with his wife and children, though he said his time leading the museum had been incredibly fulfilling.

“I really wish I could stay,” he said.

The Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum, founded in 2010, is located at the Adams homestead on East Road where the famous suffragette was born in 1820. While the museum’s primary focus is Anthony’s personal history and legacy, it also takes a broader look at the fight for women’s right to vote in the United States and aims to contextualize it for a modern audience.

During his time leading the museum, Capuzzi said his proudest achievement was expanding the museum’s connections with the local community and making its historic value more well-known.

“That’s been kind of personally rewarding to see,” he said. “That community shift from ‘Oh, that’s a house I've driven by’ to ‘Oh, you’re part of the community fabric.’”

“Our outreach has been greatly improved, especially our outreach to schools,” he said, describing the museum’s visits to local schools to educate students on both Anthony’s legacy and civic involvement in general. It’s a legacy that will outlast him; the museum has five school visits already booked for 2026, he said.

Capuzzi’s favorite exhibit at the museum under his tenure happened to spotlight not Anthony but another suffragette named Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, whose tea parties in the early 20th century became salons for women to discuss and advocate for suffrage. Titled “Votes for Women: How Tea Sparked a Suffrage Revolution,” the exhibit ran from June to October 2025 and incorporated a replica tea set that belonged to Belmont as well as a recreation of her tea house.

“It was an ambitious exhibit for our small space, but it was fun and exciting to pull off,” Capuzzi said.

The Susan B. Anthony's Birthplace Museum in Adams is currently opened to the public for limited winter hours. Museum officials hope to have a new executive director named by the summer, when the museum typically opens new exhibits.

Looking forward, Capuzzi identified the museum’s limited real estate as the biggest challenge facing his successor. The museum is contained within a single homestead, and its accessibility is hampered by limited parking spaces and a far distance from public transportation. That was the primary motivator for the museum to start coming directly to schools in recent years.

On the upside, there’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to the museum’s finances, he said.

“The funding landscape is a lot more stable and growing,” he said. He’s especially excited about the fact that charitable contributions have made it possible to fund the museum’s paid internship program indefinitely, allowing undergraduate and graduate students to receive compensation for their work at the museum.

It’s a much sunnier outlook on the museum’s financial situation compared to the one in 2018, when a previous executive director’s embezzlement put the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status in jeopardy. The museum received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service in June 2023 confirming that its tax-exempt status had been reaffirmed, shortly before Capuzzi started in the role.

The job opening for the position has been posted on the museum’s website. The museum is seeking a candidate with a strong understanding of its relevant history, as well as experience in marketing and public relations.

A salary range is not listed. Capuzzi made approximately $72,000 annually in the role, according to publicly available tax filings. The executive director role is the only full-time paid position at the museum, which is supported by a board of directors and a seasonal internship program.

Capuzzi said that the search for his successor would be regionally focused, with the goal of having a new director by Memorial Day, when the museum typically launches new exhibits. In the meantime, operational responsibilities will be split among the museum’s board of directors.

“Berkshire County is a really collaborative environment, which was very inspiring to work in,” he said, adding that it was “more exciting than people would think because of the really robust arts and culture scene."

“I’m very grateful for the museum for taking a chance and taking me in,” he said.