The following is being distributed at the request of The Rooms Corporation:
The Board of Directors of The Rooms Corporation today announced that Anne Chafe will be retiring from her position as CEO of The Rooms Corporation, effective May 13, 2026.
Ms. Chafe has been with The Rooms since 2007. She served as Interim CEO beginning in July 2019 and was appointed CEO in June 2020 through a recommendation of the Independent Appointments Commission. Her previous leadership roles within the organization include Director of the Provincial Museum Division and Executive Director of Museums and Galleries.
Ms. Chafe was instrumental in leading the creation of three permanent museum exhibitions at The Rooms:
- Here We Made a Home, housed in the Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery;
- From This Place: Our Lives on Land and Sea, housed in the Cenovus Energy Gallery; and
- Beaumont-Hamel and the Trail of the Caribou: Newfoundlanders and Labradorians Overseas and at Home, 1918–1949, housed in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Gallery.
Throughout her career, Ms. Chafe championed community engagement and strengthened connections with diverse populations. She led a revision of The Rooms mission and vision, emphasizing the creation of an inclusive, diverse, creative and confident community by connecting people with Newfoundland and Labrador’s past and present to inspire a bright future.
A biography for Ms. Chafe can be found in the backgrounder below.
Quote
“Anne has guided The Rooms into its next phase of development and has helped solidify its reputation as a national institution of distinction. I am grateful to Anne for her many years of dedication and for her unwavering leadership. Her contributions to the organization are immeasurable, and her legacy will be long lasting. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we wish Anne the very best in her retirement.”
Margaret Allan
Chair, The Rooms Board of Directors
-30-
Learn more
The Rooms
Like us on Facebook
Media contact
Jena Mitchell
The Rooms
709-757-8144
jenamitchell@therooms.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Anne Chafe Biography
Anne Chafe has served as the CEO of The Rooms since 2020. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director of Museums and Galleries and as Interim CEO beginning in 2019. Ms. Chafe first joined The Rooms as Director of the Provincial Museum Division in 2007. Before returning to her native St. John’s, she spent 23 years working in Ontario’s museum and cultural sector.
Ms. Chafe began her museum career at the former Newfoundland Museum in 1983. After completing a Master of Museum Studies degree from the University of Toronto in 1986, she remained in Ontario, working at municipal museums in Oakville and Windsor before moving to the Region of Waterloo. There she served as Assistant Curator of the Joseph Schneider Haus Museum and Curator of the Seagram Museum, later becoming Manager of Heritage Resources for the City of Waterloo—a role she held for nine years.
During her time in Ontario, Ms. Chafe was active in provincial professional organizations, serving as President of the Ontario Museum Association and as a Museums Committee member of the Ontario Historical Society. She contributed to numerous local heritage and cultural boards and was a founding member of community initiatives such as Doors Open Waterloo Region.
More recently, Ms. Chafe served as President of the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, a juror for the Governor General of Canada’s History Alive awards and the Canadian Museums Association’s Awards Program. She has also served on the Board of Directors of ICOM Canada. She was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for Destination St. John’s.
Ms. Chafe’s work has been recognized by the Governor General of Canada’s History Alive program, the Canadian Museums Association, the Ontario Museum Association, the Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Historic Sites Association of NL. She is also the recipient of the Sally Thorsen Award for Professional Excellence from the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation.