New Newfields CEO announced after months-long search

Newfields has named Le Monte Booker as its new President and CEO after a months-long national search.

Booker most recently worked as the chief financial officer at the Field Museum in Chicago. He also briefly served as president for the museum.

Newfields' board of trustees announced the appointment on Monday.

"I am thrilled to start my next chapter as the CEO of Newfields, which is an outstanding example of a cornerstone cultural institution in the unique position of having both a world-class art collection as well as important gardens and historic homes,” Booker said in a statement.

Booker will lead the museum following the unexpected departure of Colette Burnette last year. Burnette was on the job for less than two years. 

Her departure caused many in the community, including a number of local Black organizations, to call for transparency and an explanation of her departure. Numerous board members also stepped away in the wake of her leaving.

Burnette was hired after a controversial job posting resulted in the resignation of another former museum leader in 2021.

Booker will start work at Newfields in late October.

Contact WFYI City Desk Managing Editor Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org.