The nation’s top residency program for writers and artists will soon transition to new leadership. Yaddo President Elaina Richardson has elected to step aside from her current role, initiating a national search for the next chief executive.
Yaddo Artists and Board Co-Chairs Janice Y.K. Lee and Peter Kayafas are forming an internal committee to guide the transition. The process is expected to take about a year. Until then, Richardson will remain at the helm.
Founded in 1900, Yaddo is a private nonprofit retreat for artists in Saratoga Springs. The mission is to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for writers and artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment. Yaddo offers residencies to professional creative artists working in the following disciplines: literature, choreography, film, musical composition, painting, performance art, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video. Artists apply individually. They are selected by panels of professional artists without regard to financial means.
2026 marks the centennial of the first cohort of artists in residence at Yaddo—hailed by The New York Times in 1926 as a “new and unique experiment which has no exact parallel in the world of the fine arts.”
As Yaddo approaches this milestone, Richardson reflected on her tenure. “As most of you know, this is my 25th year at Yaddo,” she wrote in a letter to the Yaddo community. “Twenty-five! I’m not sure how that happened, but I do know how proud I feel of all the artists who have come through our doors in those years, and how delighted I am by all that we have built on the grounds to enhance the program.”
“With Yaddo strong and the Board robust,” Richardson continued, “I have decided that this is the right moment to step aside as President and let someone else bring fresh energy and ideas to this place we all love.”
Artists, cultural figures, and the broader Yaddo community have rallied in recognition of Richardson’s extraordinary vision and transformative stewardship.
“Elaina has been a visionary leader for Yaddo, displaying her characteristic grace, strength, and a deep understanding of artists and their work,” Janice Y.K. Lee said. “It has been a profound privilege to work alongside her and to witness her singular leadership, generosity of spirit, and rare affinity with artists. While it is hard to imagine Yaddo without her, the Board is deeply grateful for all she has given us and confident that her legacy will continue to shape and strengthen Yaddo’s future.”
Joining in the appreciation, Peter Kayafas observed, “I have worked alongside Elaina for 25 years on behalf of Yaddo and its mission. During that time, I have witnessed with inspired awe how she has effectively steered our complicated and essential programs supporting our artists with grace, humility, and vision for the future. Because of her incredible commitment and consistency, Yaddo is in a better place on every front than at any previous time in its 100-year history. As a Board we are grateful to Elaina for setting the highest standard for Yaddo and its future, which will help to ensure success for the next President/Executive Director.”
During her tenure, Richardson led the $8 million effort to stabilize and enhance the historic Yaddo Mansion, which reopened in 2019—marking a major milestone in Yaddo’s stewardship of its iconic grounds. Her sustained advocacy for preservation helped secure Yaddo’s designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2013, a status conferred not for any single building or architectural style, but for the extraordinary creative work generated here over the past century—books, films, plays, performances, and exhibitions made possible, in part, by Yaddo’s unseen hand.
Her commitment to safeguarding Yaddo’s legacy was matched by an equally bold vision for its future. She oversaw the transfer of the Yaddo archival records to the New York Public Library (NYPL) (2000); renovated and expanded Pigeon Barn into a live-work facility, including a redesigned darkroom (2002); and restored West House with upgraded electrical and plumbing systems, a wheelchair lift, and accessible bathrooms (2003).
Richardson further broadened Yaddo’s cultural reach and institutional capacity. In 2008, she steered Yaddo: Making American Culture (Edited by Micki McGee) to publication as the companion to the NYPL exhibition, which was amplified by 26 partner institutions nationwide. She guided the 2011 Strategic Plan and the 2012 Facilities Master Plan, opened Yaddo’s first movement-based studios, Green House (2013), and fundraised for and built five new live-work facilities—The Lakes, Alaíde Foppa, Saratoga Studio, Frankenthaler, and Toll House (2015).
Under her leadership, Yaddo adapted nimbly to changing times. Richardson led the organization through the pandemic, launched the podcast Shadow Yaddo, and reopened the program with an innovative “pods” model. She managed significant institutional growth, including an expansion of the applicant pool from 1,039 in 2000 to 2,662 in 2024, and increased Yaddo’s endowment from $9 million to more than $38 million.
Over the course of her presidency, she collaborated with four Board leadership teams: Donald Rice (1986–2003), Peter Gould (2003–2013), Susan Unterberg and A.M. Homes (2013–2018), and current Co-Chairs Lee and Kayafas (2018–present).
Yaddo’s leadership has spanned a century of vision and stewardship, beginning with Elizabeth Ames, who served as Executive Director from 1923 to 1969. She was followed by Curtis Harnack (1971–1987) and Myra Sklarew (1987–1991). Michael Sundell then served as President from 1992 to 2000, followed by Elaina Richardson, who has led the organization from 2000 to the present.
In 1900, the Trasks created Yaddo in response to a world in turmoil, giving artists the calm and clarity denied by daily pressures. Those pressures have only intensified, and Yaddo’s mission endures: to give artists the time, space, and freedom to create.
More than 7,000 artists have worked at Yaddo, enriching the world’s cultural landscape with their contributions. Collectively, Yaddo artists have won 88 Pulitzer Prizes, 36 MacArthur Fellowships, 72 National Book Awards, 74 Emmy honors, 47 Grammy Awards, 13 Oscars, 17 Tony Awards, and a Nobel Prize in Literature.
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