Montpelier President and CEO Eola Lewis Dance resigns

Surprise announcement comes just a week before the Montpelier Races

Eola Lewis Dance, president and chief executive officer of James Madison’s Montpelier, announced Friday afternoon that she is resigning from the position she has held for the past 15 months. The unexpected news comes just a week before the presidential estate’s signature event, the Montpelier Hunt Races.

Krista Costello, Montpelier’s chief operating officer, will serve as acting president and CEO until the Montpelier Foundation’s board of directors chooses Dance’s successor. Dance’s resignation is effective November 11.

The official reason for her departure, according to her public announcement, is that Dance has family needs requiring her full attention. A confidential source told Byrd Street that Dance had informed the Montpelier Foundation’s board that she planned, after race day on Saturday, Nov. 2, to announce her resignation. According to the confidential source, the foundation board said, ‘Nope. Do it now.’”

The source added that while Dance was not forced to resign, she likely would have been told to do so if she hadn’t chosen to make the move on her own.

The 2,650-acre estate has struggled to raise funds in recent years, and Dance had little success in that crucial area. On Constitution Day (September 21) at Montpelier, her fundraising goal for that day alone was $1 million. The final tally, including pledges, was $56,335—not bad for a day’s work but well short of the ambitious target.

Byrd Street’s source noted of Dance’s exit, “I think it was mostly about fundraising, but I think there was also just a lack of a good fit.”

Dance came to Montpelier with 22 years of experience with the National Park Service. Personable and forthright, fair-minded and deeply interested in the history of Montpelier, both the presidential side and the enslaved community side, she seemed at the time like a fine fit—save for her lack of experience in fundraising.