Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Assistant Manager of Education Collections Department: 2007-2020

• Maintain current understanding of best practices and use of 35,000+ objects and specimens in support of education curriculum for internal and external audiences in natural history subjects (Anthropology, Geology, Paleontology, Zoology, Human Health, and Space Sciences).
• Led team providing access and use of 35,000+ teaching collections for 4,000+ programs/events and 1 million+ visitors annually.
• Supervise 60+ volunteers in meeting department goals (exhibit carts, specimen selection/repair, training, database administration, external loan prep, etc).
• Establish needs, interview, onboard, review, and mentor employees, interns, and volunteers.
• Led departmental planning and coordination with departments representing 500+ employees.
• Plan, support and execute events and exhibit activities for board members, household members, donors, and the community on an annual, quarterly, and ad-hoc basis.
• Identify risks, develop and implement strategies to achieve department objectives while balancing conflicting priorities within budget and operational constraints.
• Training of 400+ gallery volunteers in preparation of new, temporary exhibitions.
• Present/facilitate/market the museum in community, membership, donor, and staff events on and off-site.
• Represent and market the museum in official media requests ranging from research and print, to live television broadcasts.
• Present to professional,/global audiences on topics relating to collections care and usage, best practices, community engagement at conferences.
• Streamline and expand custom loan procedures for 100+ loans annually (before and during COVID) to meet the needs of educators and outside institutions.

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Assistant Manager of Health Sciences Collection: 2009-2020

• Led newly formed team in care and long-term preservation of collections for use in research, exhibits, education, and confirm best practices standards are met.
• Ensure proper specimen storage, documentation, and support accessibility.
• Maintain accurate specimen data in the Axiell/EMu database.

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Additional Duties:

Assistant Manager of Space Science Collection: 2007-2020

• Secure material from NASA GSAccess to support education and programming needs.
• Led newly formed team in care and long-term preservation of collections for use in research, exhibits, education, and confirm best practices standards are met.
• Ensure proper specimen storage, documentation, and support accessibility.
• Maintain accurate object data in the Axiell/EMu database.

Interim Registrar/Assistant: October 2018-March 2019 and Q4 2016

• Curate institutional documents in relation to accession, deaccession, internal/external loans, exhibits, and year-end data.
• Led department support for exhibit material for Cuba! temporary exhibition and JPL Mars Lander full-scale model.

Conservation Assistant: December 2016-December 2019

• Plan and execute divisional integrated pest management (IPM) plan
• Led newly formed IPM Team.
• Reevaluate and plan Quick Response, divisional emergency preparedness plan in coordination with Science, Security and Facilities divisions.

Archives Assistant: January 2014 – January 2015

• See completion of final move of collections to the newly built facility.
• Select material for accession and fully process (catalog and storage).

EDUCATION

Metropolitan State University of Denver

BA Integrated Liberal Arts for Museum Studies, summa cum laude.

• Individualized Degree Program: Create and acquire university board approval for a degree that meets state and institutional standards in pursuing a career not supported by existing university programs.
• Course work: Anthropology, Archaeology, History, Non-Profit and Business Administration, Grant-writing, Early Childhood Reading, Gifted and Talented Education.
• Historic Denver: Write, submit and win general operating expenses grant for the Sacred Landmarks Program from the Anschutz Family Foundation through Metropolitan State University of Denver.📷
• Four Mile Historic Park: Student Exhibit Consultant through the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Denver.
• Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Intern and Volunteer.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• American Alliance of Museums (AAM)
• Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
• Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)
• Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums
• Collections Management Group (CMG)
• Skirts in Science
• MuseumExpert.org

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (ABSTRACTS AVAILABLE)

• Girls & Science – Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
• Quick Disaster Response: DMNS Adds a Tool - Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
• Object Based Inquiry: Collections and Critical Thinking – Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
• Using Artifacts in the Classroom (As Primary Sources) - Colorado Council for the Social Studies (CCSS)

CERTIFICATION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

• Biosafety Level-2 Laboratory
• Mini-Med School – University of Colorado
• Poisons in Collections – SPNHC
• Bloodborne Pathogens – American Red Cross
• Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED – American Red Cross
• Fossil Invertebrates – DMNS
• Volunteer Interview Skills Seminar – DMNS
• Vertebrate Specimen Preparation – DMNS
• Non-Profit Management Foundations - LinkedIn Learning
• Human Resources Foundations - LinkedIn Learning
• Public Relations Foundations- LinkedIn Learning

TECHNICAL SKILLS

●Knowledge of collections management best practices for Anthropology, Geology, Paleontology, Zoology, Health, and Space Science collections

● Museum Education

● Integrated Pest Management for Collections (IPM)

● Emergency Preparedness

● Collections Management Software/Database-

-KE/Axiell EMu (Power User), Arctos, and Argus
● Collections packing and transportation
● Specimen/Object Preparation, Mountmaking, Repair, and Conservation

● Zoology Preparation
● Microsoft Office (Word,Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook)

● eClimate Notebook
● Docusign
● Google Drive
● Zoom Meeting Management