Making her mark on Monticello

Early one recent morning a mother and her 12-year-old daughter, Haley, rode their horses along a trail favored by Thomas Jefferson.

Sunrise was beginning to color Monticello’s east portico and awaken spring blooms. As the yielding creak of saddle leather added soft notes to the song of birds and breeze, the daughter took it all in.

“Mom, I can’t believe you found such a perfect job,” Haley said.

Leslie Greene Bowman smiled and thought it didn’t get any better than having her seventh-grader love the fact that they’ve moved. Or for that matter, being the chief caretaker of one of the most revered homes in the world — Monticello.

On Nov. 1, Bowman assumed the position of president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates the architectural masterpiece and surrounding 2,500 acres. Alice W. Handy, chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees, said at the time that Bowman was the “perfect person” for the job.

Six months into the new president’s reign, Handy called the selection a home run.

“She has energized staff, is leaving her footprint on the organization, is working hard on a strategic plan — the next phase for Monticello — and has been well received in the community and with our donor base,” Handy wrote in an e-mail.

“All of the above has happened because she is tireless, has a warm personality and inspires others to follow her lead. The enthusiasm on the mountaintop is palpable.”

Bowman, 52, took the helm from the able hands of Daniel P. Jordan, who had guided and directed the estate’s affairs since 1985. The two had become close friends while serving together on the board of trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Big shoes to fill

“When a recruiter called me about Monticello, my first response was, ‘No one can follow Dan Jordan,’” said Bowman, whose husband, Cortland Neuhoff, a doctor of chiropractic and an equine chiropractor, recently opened a Charlottesville office.

“Then during the next few weeks and months I was persuaded that I should really look at this position. In the end I think it was the power of Thomas Jefferson, the compelling strength of the board, as well as the staff, and the even greater realization of what a phenomenal job Dan had done that persuaded me that maybe it was time to make a change.

“This place is at the top of its game. So I’m in the lucky position of strengthening and building on Dan’s stewardship.”

Bowman was born in Ohio, then moved back and forth to Los Angeles a few times with her family. If there was a historical site anywhere near the roads they traveled to and from California there was always time for a visit.

This attention to the nation’s past inspired Bowman to major in history at Miami University in Ohio. She went on to receive a master’s degree in early American culture from the Winterthur Museum Program at the University of Delaware.

In 1980 Bowman went to work for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. When she left in 1997 to become director of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyo., she had risen to the position of head curator of decorative arts and assistant director of exhibitions.

In 1999 she felt as though the “Mother Church” had called her home when she was named director and chief executive officer of Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Delaware. The former home of Henry Francis du Pont is one of the world’s leading museums of American decorative arts.

“I had nine years at Winterthur and loved every minute of it,” said Bowman, who oversaw the development of the estate’s nationally regarded children’s garden, Enchanted Woods. “Certainly, there are things about it that I miss, but I’m somebody who thrives on challenges, stimulation and new ideas.

“We had just completed a master plan, so it felt as though that chapter was done. As I began to get more interested about Monticello and the foundation, it struck me that it wasn’t a bad time for Winterthur to seek new leadership.”

Bowman first saw Monticello when she was a graduate fellow at Winterthur. It was a moving and memorable experience.

“Coming up this mountain, and then your first view of this house has to take your breath away,” said Bowman, who lives with her family and six dogs in a tree-shaded, blue colonial home near the mansion. “It still takes my breath away every morning.

“I get up early, and when the sun is rising and hitting the east portico, my heart stops. My most vivid memory of the interior of the house during my first visit is of the entrance hall, and the maps, Indian artifacts and incredible cabinet of curiosities.

“Jefferson had created a secular chapel of knowledge for people to learn from. I remember looking at all this and thinking, ‘Oh, this man is an amazing genius.’”

The home designed by the third president is a gleaming national treasure that attracted 447,514 visitors last year. And every day throughout the world, Jefferson’s ideas continue to resound and influence.

“I think what is tremendously exciting is that we have a Founding Father here who is of enormous importance in history,” said Bowman, who starts each day by saying good morning to Mr. Jefferson, and often asks herself what he might have done or would have wanted during the course of her day.

‘Vital’ ideas

“He is also someone whose ideas are still vital and relevant — maybe never more than now. This incredibly powerful place has always stood for excellence, and there are always opportunities to enhance that.

“We were just at a conference in Sydney, Australia, where Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy, director of our Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, spoke, gave radio interviews and showed our film.

“I also see this as a time of strengthening and building on our relationship with our community. Charlottesville has been so gracious, warm and welcoming. We have found it exemplary and heartwarming in how lovely everyone has been to us.”

Monticello’s renewed embrace of the community was evident last weekend when the first 5K Montalto Challenge was run. The “high mountain” next to Jefferson’s home is normally not accessible to the public.

“This opportunity came up and I thought, ‘What a wonderful thing to allow,’ at least when we can,” said Bowman, an accomplished equestrian who excelled at three-day eventing. “In the fall, we’re going to have the Heritage Harvest Festival up there.

“I know the community misses some of the activities that used to be conducted up there, and I want to reach out in that way. I want people to feel this is their second home.

“There’s reasons to come back more often now. We have our new visitor center, and a new pavilion we’re about to unveil that’s going to provide another wonderful space for classes, programs and conferences.

“Things are really moving and happening here. I think this is a new chapter for the foundation, and I’m thrilled at the possibilities.”

Nobody was happier that Bowman got the job than Jordan and his wife, Lou. The couple recently returned from two months in Italy, where the past president was in residence at the American Academy in Rome.

Predecessor’s praise

“Leslie was an outstanding selection,” said Jordan, who recently started Bryan & Jordan Consulting LLC with a friend. “She had great experience at Winterthur and is highly regarded in her professional field.

“She’s very smart, has a business mind and has had terrific experience working with boards and large donors. Her taste is impeccable, and her contacts are nationwide.

“The only advice I gave Leslie was to be herself, and she would be great. She’s off to a strong start.”