Western Neighborhoods Project Announces Hiring of Director of Programs, Chelsea Sellin

Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP) is excited to announce that its staff has doubled in size with the addition of a paid Director of Programs. Chelsea Sellin joins WNP’s payroll for the first time, but she’s been a dedicated volunteer at the organization since 2014.

This is a momentous leap for the community history nonprofit that has only been able to pay an Executive Director for five years, and it makes WNP one of the few history organizations to be stewarded by two women under the age of 40.

Sellin served on the organization’s Board of Directors for six years, four of which saw her acting as Board president. She stepped off the Board in 2020 but continued to volunteer as editor-in-chief of the quarterly membership magazine, “Outside Lands.”

Over the years, she’s contributed to WNP’s weekly podcast, “Outside Lands San Francisco,” and has been a regular at public programs, including cohost of the organization’s popular virtual History Happy Hours during the pandemic. She is already a vital member of the WNP family and this is a natural evolution for an organization founded by two best friends, David Gallagher and Woody LaBounty. WNP is thrilled to continue its legacy as the friendly neighborhood history group led by best friends, ensuring its future as the nonprofit known for doing serious history without taking itself too seriously.

A Bay Area native, Chelsea received her B.A. in History and Film Studies from Chapman University and her M.A. in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University. She has worked and volunteered at a variety of local institutions, including History San Jose, San Jose Museum of Art, Computer History Museum, San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, National Park Service, and San Francisco History Days at the Old Mint. Chelsea spent the last 12 years working for Wells Fargo’s Family and Business History Center, helping clients to uncover and understand their past in order to better prepare for their future.

WNP is a 501(c)3 California nonprofit that has preserved, interpreted, and shared the diverse history and culture of San Francisco’s west side since 1999. In support of this work, the organization launched the OpenSFHistory Program in 2014 to digitize and make available online thousands of historical San Francisco images that span citywide. WNP is also the group that, along with community partners, saved the Cliff House Collection and opened a temporary exhibition in the former Cliff House Restaurant and Gift Shop called The Museum at The Cliff. The Museum is free and open on weekends until Sept. 25, 2022.

For more information, go to https://outsidelands.org.