Award Dinner

10.29.2025

Honoring

Debra L. Mecky

Executive Director and CEO
Greenwich Historical Society

Celebrating

Maritime Art and History

Featured Speaker

Nathaniel Philbrick

Award-winning Author and Maritime Historian

Belle Haven Club
Greenwich, CT

Wednesday, October 29, 2025
6:00 pm

Debra L. Mecky

Debra L. Mecky, Ph.D., is a distinguished museum professional and historian who has served as the Executive Director and CEO of the Greenwich Historical Society for nearly three decades. Since assuming leadership in 1996, she has been instrumental in transforming the organization into a nationally recognized regional history museum.

Under Dr. Mecky’s guidance, the Historical Society underwent a significant transformation through the 2018 “Reimagine the Campus” initiative. This project introduced modern galleries, a state-of-the-art library and archives, a welcoming reception area, and a museum store. She also oversaw the restoration of historic structures, including the Justus Luke Bush Storehouse and the expansion of the Vanderbilt Education Center. These efforts culminated in the Society’s accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, enhancing its stature and credibility.

Dr. Mecky’s legacy is characterized by her visionary leadership, dedication to historical preservation, and commitment to community engagement, leaving an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of Greenwich and beyond.

Nathaniel Philbrick

Nathaniel Philbrick is a world-renowned author and maritime historian. In 2000 he published the New York Times bestseller, In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction, followed by Sea of Glory, winner of the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize and the Albion-Monroe Award from the National Maritime Historical Society and Mayflower, finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in History.

Nathaniel Philbrick earned a BA in English from Brown University and an MA in America Literature from Duke University, where he was a James B. Duke Fellow. He was Brown University’s first Intercollegiate All-American sailor. In 1986, Philbrick moved to Nantucket with his wife Melissa and their two children. He has written several books on the island’s history and still resides there today.

Event Co-Chairs

Isabel and Peter Malkin

Mallory and Gregory Molenkamp

Debbie and Russ Reynolds

Steering Committee

*In-formation

Haley Elmlinger

Chip Emery

Robert Getz

Catherine Tompkins

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