Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Appoints Robbie Lauf Interim Chief Executive Officer
Edward F. O'Keefe joins the Board of Trustees after seven years leading the Library from concept through opening
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Medora, N.D., Sept. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Board of Trustees of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation has appointed Robbie Lauf Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective September 19. Lauf has served as the Library’s Executive Director since 2024 and has been involved with the Foundation since 2018.
Robbie Lauf, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. (Photo: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library)
Lauf succeeds Edward F. O’Keefe, who concluded his service as Chief Executive Officer on September 18 and has joined the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Leadership transition
During seven years as CEO, O’Keefe guided the Foundation from an ambitious concept to a completed presidential library. Under his leadership, the Foundation secured the support necessary to build in Medora, assembled its staff, and carried the project through design, construction, and opening. The Library opened on schedule on July 4, 2026 — the 250th anniversary of American independence — and has since welcomed more than 138,000 visitors.
“Ed took a bold idea and made it real,” said Hilary Hamm, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “His leadership brought together the people, resources, and conviction required to build this Library. The Board is deeply grateful for his service and pleased that his experience and perspective will remain part of the institution.”
“Opening the Library on July 4 was the achievement of an extraordinary team and thousands of people who believed in this work,” said O’Keefe. “Robbie has been part of it nearly from the beginning. He knows the institution, its mission, and its people, and I have complete confidence in his leadership.”
Interim leadership
Lauf joined the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2018, before Medora was selected as the site of the Library and before the organization had a staff. He moved from the Board to a staff role in January 2022 and was named Executive Director in 2024. In that position, he has led the Library’s daily operations through the final stages of construction, preparations for opening, and its first season serving the public.
“Robbie brings both continuity and a deep understanding of the institution,” Hamm said. “He has been part of the Library’s development from its earliest strategic decisions through opening and operations. The Board has great confidence in his ability to lead the organization through this transition.”
“Opening the Library was a defining milestone, but our responsibility is what comes next,” Lauf said. “I am grateful for the Board’s trust and proud to work alongside this team. We will remain focused on serving our visitors and carrying the Library’s mission forward.”
The Board has retained Spencer Stuart to conduct a national search for the Library’s permanent Chief Executive Officer.
About Robbie Lauf
Robbie Lauf is Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. A North Dakota native, he joined the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2018, moved to the staff in 2022, and became Executive Director in 2024.
Before joining the Foundation full time, Lauf worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and served as a senior adviser to North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, leading the governor’s policy team and overseeing development of the administration’s biennial budget. He also worked in the office of Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell.
Lauf graduated with honors from North Dakota State University, where he received a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, and holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. He serves on the boards of the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation, the Save the Maah Daah Hey Trail Foundation, and the North Dakota News Cooperative. In 2026, he received the NDSU Foundation’s Horizon Award.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and its prairie boardwalk above Medora, North Dakota, with the Badlands beyond. (Photo: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library)
About Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opened July 4, 2026, America’s 250th birthday, on a 93-acre butte above Medora, North Dakota, at the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The site sits in the Badlands where a grieving young TR came in the 1880s to ranch, hunt, and rebuild his life after losing his mother and his wife on the same day. Designed by Snøhetta with North Dakota’s JLG Architects, the 96,000-square-foot building rises from the butte beneath a walkable green roof planted with native species. The Library is pursuing Living Building Challenge full certification, LEED Platinum, and SITES Platinum. More than 40,000 square feet of exhibits explore TR’s life and legacy through three pillars: Leadership, Citizenship, and Conservation. The Library is operated by the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is not part of the National Archives presidential library system.
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A video accompanying this announcement is available here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=W9sq8PuGQVo
