Meet Irene N Rodriguez | Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Irene N Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Irene N, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Cabot’s Pueblo Museum is in the midst of a neighborhood and is a cultural asset of Desert Hot Springs. The Foundation shares the legacy of Cabot Yerxa and Cole Eyraud via tours, community programs, and second graders of the Palm Springs Unified School District.

Through our tours, we share how Cabot built the Pueblo, rediscovered the mineral waters, but most importantly, how he was an advocate for Indigenous people and how he and other individuals collaborated in bringing the street light, fire department, library, and the post office before city government.

Our programs also reflect Cabot’s appreciation for the arts and environment–we host artists who create one-of-kind items and uphold traditional ways of making their art.

Our visitors leave in awe of Cabot, who built the Pueblo, and Cole, who rescued it from being demolished.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While in college, I knew I wanted to work in museums, but did not know in what capacity. It was not easy to find a museum position, but I found two opportunities about two years after graduating from college. I worked part-time at a children’s museum and a natural history museum. These two institutions shaped my museum career: the children’s museum encouraged my creative side while the natural history museum honed my teaching skills and my foundation of educational theories and child development.

During my employment at the Natural History Museum, I realized I wanted to advance in positions, which meant I needed to go to graduate school for a master’s in museum studies. This decision helped me both professionally and personally. I made contacts in the museum field, but most importantly, I understood the importance of teamwork in any organization. With my master’s degree, I had the skills needed for management positions.

In every new position, I had challenges that I felt were insurmountable. These challenges were developing an exhibition with other key team members, resolving conflict within the team/department, implementing best practice procedures and protocols, and most recently, fundraising and the responsibility for the financial stability of the institution.

I overcame these challenges through my perseverance and handling each task, but most recently, I joined a cohort of executive directors where we can delve more into our strengths and styles to move our organizations to the next level–training board directors, recruiting new donors, and engaging our staff.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take my best friend to downtown Coachella. The city has murals around within two blocks. We will start at Sixth Street Cafe with a cup of coffee and walk towards City Hall where we pose with butterfly wings, and walk towards Veteran’s Park where we can honor the men and women who served in the armed services, then walk towards one of the oldest trees. This tree has various animals carved within the tree–you can see the faces of a bear, eagle, snake, ants, and even spiders. We drive toward the end of Sixth Street to experience the sculpture, Etherea by Edoardo Tresoldi. After our art excursion, we have lunch at Taqueria yy Birrieria Guadalajara. I will have my favorite dish-sopes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Cynthia H. Breunig is the individual who encouraged me to be part of Cabot’s Pueblo Museum as its executive director.
She continues to encourage, advise, and support me in my tenure at Pueblo Museum

Website: https://www.cabotsmuseum.org

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Image Credits
Courtesy of Cabot’s Museum Foundation