Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Announces Leadership Transition Following Landmark Opening; Founding CEO Edward F. O'Keefe Named President & CEO of The WNET Group

MEDORA, N.D., July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the historic July 4 grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, the institution's Board of Trustees today announced that O'Keefe, its founding chief executive, has been named President & CEO of The WNET Group, the parent of New York's flagship PBS station and one of the most respected independent public media organizations in the country. O'Keefe will remain CEO of the Library through September 18, 2026.

"The successful opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter and the timing is right for this transition," said Hilary Hamm, Chair of the Board of Trustees. "The Board is deeply grateful to Ed for seven years of leadership in bringing this vision to life and equally confident in the exceptional team leading the institution every day. We have launched a national search for the Library's next leader and are committed to ensuring the organization continues to grow, inspire, and thrive for generations to come."

The leadership transition comes at a moment of extraordinary momentum for the institution. Since its July 4 debut, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library has welcomed more than 40,000 participants and counting, enrolled almost 3,500 members, and attracted more than 1 million website visitors, reflecting tremendous national interest in Theodore Roosevelt's enduring legacy and the Library's immersive participant experience.

"This Library was never intended simply to tell the story of Theodore Roosevelt. It is about our shared responsibility to carry forward the principles he championed: leadership, citizenship, and conservation," said Theodore Roosevelt V, the President's great-great-grandson and a member of the Board of Trustees. "Ed O'Keefe understood that from the very first day. He built a place that does more than honor Theodore Roosevelt; it asks every person who walks through its doors what kind of citizen they intend to be. The Roosevelt family is proud of what he has built and confident that the institution he leaves behind will continue to embody his boldness, ambition, and sense of possibility. We are thrilled to see him bring that same visionary energy back to public media."

When Edward F. O'Keefe took the helm of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, there was no land, no architect, and no museum to design — only the conviction, shared by the Roosevelt family, former Governor Doug Burgum and the North Dakota Legislature, that Theodore Roosevelt's story deserved a home in the Badlands that shaped him.

"Building this Library alongside the people of North Dakota and our partners across the state has been the honor of my career," said O'Keefe. "What we set out to do is now real, thriving, and welcoming thousands of participants, and I leave day-to-day leadership with complete confidence. Public media has a vital role to play in American life, and I'm eager to take up that work."

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library's Board of Trustees has launched an Executive Search Committee and is actively working to identify the Library's next leader. During this process, the Library's leadership team will continue to ensure continuity in operations, programming, and the world-class experience that has defined the institution.

About the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opened in Medora, North Dakota, on July 4, 2026. Designed by Snøhetta and organized around the pillars of Leadership, Citizenship, and Conservation, the Library is an independently operated institution supported through a public-private partnership, including a State of North Dakota operating endowment. It is governed by the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Learn more at trlibrary.com.

SOURCE Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library