PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) December 2002 – October 2020

Education Collections Manager; Health Sciences Collections Manager

Collections Management

· Authored Education Collections Department plan, policies, and procedures documents.

· Authored Education Collections section of the Museum’s strategic Long-term Collections and Research Plan. Authored collection, storage and retention plan for Health Sciences Genetics of Taste double blind DNA and associated Data.

· Supervised and mentored assistant collections manager in the development of our emergency preparedness plan and our emergency trifold pamphlet. Integrated pest management and environmental monitoring were included in this project.

· Worked hand in hand with the DMNS facilities team on everything from routine maintenance and fire extinguisher checks, to emergency preparedness and disaster response. They even were kind enough to put together a 6-week course for collections staff on our HVAC system so we could understand how our environmental monitoring protocols related back to the system.

· Content provider and communicator for our strategic initiative projects, exhibit halls, programs, external colleagues and community partners.

· Member of the DMNS Collections Leadership Committee that was charged with charting the direction and priorities of the Integrative Collections Branch at DMNS.

· Responsible for ensuring collections and collecting activities were in legal compliance, and ethical compliance, with all relevant national and international legislation and regulations. I have competence in CITES I and II, cultural resource Law, NAGPRA, as well as the host of more targeted laws including the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

· Power User of DMNS Collections Management System: Questor’s Argus, and most recently, Axiell’s Emu.

Program Development

· Co-created, with internal and community stakeholders, over 500 museum programs that reach audiences of all ages and demographics throughout Colorado and neighboring states.

· Member of the DMNS No Walls initiative which seeks to further the DMNS Strategic Plan, “Everyone, Everywhere” and increase the number and diversity of people who engage with the museum, in ways and places that are meaningful to them.

· Moved projects from prototyping to implementation to operationalization. Supporting, by the end of my time at DMNS, 4,000+ programs a year, with over half being outside the walls of the museum and reaching audiences new to DMNS.

· Created content and designed trainings for staff and volunteers for Space Odyssey, Expedition Health, and other permanent exhibits. Delivered 3-6 staff and volunteer trainings annually to approximately 1,000 people.

· Core team member for traveling exhibitions at DMNS. Collaborated with curators, exhibits, educators and marketing staff to produce and execute on 3-5 traveling exhibitions annually, each reaching, on average, 200,000 visitors.

· Collaborated as a collection manager and scientist with museum educators to develop, write, edit, and deliver training on 52 different temporary exhibitions, which are the primary source of revenue for DMNS.

· Engaged, as part of a small team, to develop and produce programs for the DMNS Virtual Science Academy reaching approximately 8,000 students across the world annually.

· Partnered with DMNS Teacher Professional Development staff to create content and activities for courses to support Next Generation Science Standards and lesson plans on interspecies variation and biometrics as well as human evolution.

· Engaged with a small, dedicated, team to develop and produce programs for the DMNS Virtual Science Academy reaching approximately 8,000 students across the world annually.

· Developed and grew the DMNS Education Collections Loan Program, a program offered to Colorado teachers and community centers, including Lubavich of Colorado and the Colorado Air National Guard. Working directly with school classroom staff and their curriculum, we loaned museum objects that were customized to enhance student engagement with the teacher’s plan. This program alone reached approximately 2,250 students annually.

Administration and Finance

· Supervised the Education Collections Assistant Manager, IMLS grant staff, and upwards of 40 volunteers on a weekly basis.

· Proudly participated as a mentor in the DMNS Teen Science Scholars program. Every summer we mentor teenagers from traditionally underserved, and underrepresented communities in the sciences. These kids may not have the resources or support to pursue their interests in the sciences. We provide that entry point and coaching, should they want it, to help boost them towards a career in a STEAM field.

· Responsible for budget forecasting and expenditure oversight as well as department staffing, workflow integration, and grant administration.

· Mentored the Education Collections Assistant Manager through professional development projects such as supporting temporary exhibits, integrative pest management and emergency response.

· Maintained donor relations through targeted museum events and fundraisers as well as more personal lunches, coffees, and behind the scenes tours with individuals. Met with senators and representatives to secure funding for the Avenir Collections Center.

· Authored, received, and was PI on a $150,000 IMLS Museum for America Grant in 2010-2013. The Education Collections Synthesis Project evaluated every object in the DMNS Education Collections with a team of curator and educators, refined and focused the collection and ultimately digitized the collection in Questor’s Argus Database. And, quite by serendipity, migrated databases in the middle of the grant to Axiell’s EMu.

California Institute for Peruvian Studies (CIPS) April 2002 – August 2005

Principal Investigator/Archaeologist

· Orchestrated field season excavations and analyses in 2004 and 2005 including finances, research questions, and excavation plans. Collaborated with other universities to provide field school experiences and create measureable objectives for students seeking academic credit.

· Created and maintained local community connections and relationships that supported the local economy and enhanced partnerships with local landowners and labor forces.

· Produced and published multiple reports, book sections, and papers detailing the cutting edge understandings the archaeology of this area was creating. This was to satisfy Peru’s Institute of Culture, as well as service to the discipline and mission of CIPS: to further the historical understanding of the pre-contact dynamics of civilization on the North Coast of Peru.