After serving in an interim capacity for nearly a year, Brie Blasi can finally drop the word interim from her job title.
Blasi was promoted to be the Sweetwater County Historical Museum’s executive director after a special meeting the museum’s board hosted last week. She took over the museum’s management after former executive director Ruth Lauritzen left the museum February, 2015.
Blasi, who can trace her family heritage to Northern Italian immigrants who worked in the mines around Superior, said local history has always fascinated her. She grew up hearing stories about her family coming to Wyoming and their homeland in Italy, which later sparked an interest in ethnic and labor history, especially how ethnic groups interacted with one another, such as how the ethnic groups in Rock Springs co-existed during the early 1900s. She has also developed an interest in historic crimes and has done a lot of research into crimes committed in the area during the late 1800s.
Blasi has a number of goals for the museum, which include expanding the museum’s gift shop and introducing more programming. The gift shop recently introduced a number of new items, including branch pencils and enamel-based dishware. Blasi also seeks to expand what’s displayed at the museum to better engage the county’s residents. The regular exhibits won’t go, but others will rotate in and out. She also plans to introduce residents to things they haven’t seen before in museum programming.
Blasi holds an bachelor’s degree in humanities and fine arts from the University of Wyoming and has a master’s degree in public history from New Mexico State University. She has worked at the museum since 2011, initially being hired as the museum’s curator. She serves on the Wyoming Writers, Inc., Board of Directors and serves on the Green River Historic Preservation Commission and the Green River Urban Renewal Agency-Main Street Organization’s design committee. She is also a past board member of the Alliance for Historic Wyoming.
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