The foundation that oversees the Kennedy Library, after 2½ years of turbulence, named on Tuesday a longtime family ally with an extensive nonprofit background as its new leader.
Steven M. Rothstein, who has led Citizen Schools and the Perkins School for the Blind, will start next week as the executive director of the nonprofit entity that supports the iconic John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester, officials there said.
Rothstein will succeed Heather Campion, who resigned in December after a foundation board review of her stormy tenure, which was marked by many staff departures and complaints about her leadership style.
Foundation board chair Kenneth J. Feinberg said the search for a new executive director had selected Rothstein “within the last month’’ after “we started out with something like 60 names.’’
Rothstein helped Joseph P. Kennedy II found Citizens Energy Corp. in 1979, working as its general manager. The company helps low-income homeowners pay for heat. Joseph Kennedy, a former US representative, is the son of the late Robert Kennedy and the father of Joseph Kennedy III, a current congressman.
Feinberg said Rothstein was not close, however, to the immediate family of the late president.
The foundation bankrolls much of the library’s operations and works in harness with federal archives employees. Collaboration deteriorated during Campion’s tenure, with the library’s longtime director, Thomas J. Putnam, resigning last September.
At least 15 people, more than a third of the employees whose positions were funded by the foundation, either resigned or were terminated during Campion’s tenure.
Defenders of Campion said she was implementing a challenging agenda of change and modernization, at the direction of the foundation board, which is stocked with longtime Kennedy family friends and allies.
Rothstein, who lives in Somerville, was president of the Perkins School from 2003 until 2014 and then worked as chief executive of Citizen Schools. The organization is a nonprofit, founded in Boston, and is focused on extending school hours for students in low-income communities.
He also worked as assistant commissioner of what was then known as the Department of Mental Retardation under Governor Michael Dukakis, then he founded a consulting firm focused on environmentally friendly products.
Rothstein is expected to wear the title of executive director, rather than the CEO moniker Campion had, officials said. That designation will bring the Kennedy Library Foundation closer in line with libraries like those named for presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, officials said.
Feinberg said that he announced the appointment to the foundation board on Tuesday and that Rothstein had met with the foundation’s senior staff before being offered the job.
“He brought references and a track record that could not be matched, and we are indeed fortunate,’’ Feinberg said.
David S. Ferriero, archivist of the United States, said in a press release that Rothstein’s “background and experience come at a critical time as we build on the decades of public-private partnership which the foundation and the library have enjoyed.’’
In an e-mailed statement, Joseph P. Kennedy II said, “Steve Rothstein helped me get Citizens Energy started in the first few critical months and years of its existence. He helped oversee the creation of a whole slew of businesses whose model Citizens continues to use today. The moral way Steve has lived his personal and professional life, and his commitment toward helping others who struggle, is an inspiration to all of us who have worked with him over the years. I believe he’ll do a great job at the library. He has sea legs.’’
Jim O’Sullivan can be reached at jim.osullivan@globe.com.
