WASHINGTON, DC – The Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) is pleased to welcome new members of its Board of Directors, who will assume their positions at the conclusion of the ASTC Annual Conference on September 19, 2026. The Board provides direction to ASTC, which represents organizations committed to public engagement with science, including a core membership of more than 600 science and technology centers and museums and allied organizations in more than 35 countries around the world. ASTC has a vision of increased understanding of and engagement with science and technology among all people to enhance lives and livelihoods, strengthen communities, and sustain the planet.
The new Board members join at a critical moment for the association as ASTC launches its new Strategy to 2030. Learn more about ASTC’s Strategy to 2030.
One new director has been elected to her first three-year term on the Board:
- Sherry Marshall, John E. Kirkpatrick President and CEO, Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, United States
“ASTC is delighted to welcome Sherry to our Board of Directors,” said Christofer Nelson, ASTC’s President and CEO. “Her insight and experience come at a pivotal moment—for science, for museums, and for the public’s engagement with science and technology across every aspect of our lives. Together, they will help guide ASTC’s leadership of the field and strengthen the impact of science centers and museums around the world.”
Four Board members were re-elected to a second term as Directors:
- Chieko Asakawa, Chief Executive Director, Miraikan – The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Tokyo, Japan
- Jason Cryan, PhD, The Sarah B. George Executive Director, Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- Michele Crowl, PhD, Executive Director, Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania, State College, Pennsylvania, United States
- Robin Gose, EdD, President and CEO, MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, Santa Barbara, California, United States
They will join continuing members: Paul Backhouse, PhD (Senior Director, Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Environmental Protection Office, Clewiston, Florida, United States); Lori Bettison-Varga, PhD (President and Director, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States); Rayanne Darensbourg (CEO, Children’s Museum Houston, Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center, Houston, Texas, United States); Sam Dean, MEd (President and CEO, Scott Family Amazeum Bentonville, Arkansas, United States); Sean Decatur, PhD (President, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States); Benjamin Dickow (President & Executive Director, Columbia Memorial Space Center, Downey, California, United States); Erin Graham, MBA, JD (President and CEO, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon, United States); Christian Greer (President and CEO, Michigan Science Center, Detroit, Michigan, United States); Matt Hayes (President and CEO, The Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington, United States); Ashley Larose, MSc (Chief Executive Officer, Science North, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada); Tara MacDougall (President and CEO, Discovery Center of Murfree Spring, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States); Mikko Myllykoski (CEO, Heureka, Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland); Elizabeth Pierce (President and CEO, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States); Tim Ritchie (Gwill York President, Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts, United States); María Emilia Beyer Ruiz (Director, Universum, Museo de las Ciencias de la UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico); Sara Schapiro, MPP (Executive Director, Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI), Washington, DC, United States); and Adalene “Nene” Spivy (CEO, Children’s Science Center and Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation, Fairfax, Virginia, United States).
ASTC is grateful for the dedicated service of Andrés Roldán (Director, Parque Explora, Medellín, Columbia) whose six-year tenure on the Board has concluded.
About the Association of Science and Technology Centers
Founded in 1973, the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) is a network of more than 600 science and technology centers and museums, and allied organizations, engaging nearly 110 million people annually across North America and in more than 35 countries. With its members and partners, ASTC works towards a vision of increased understanding of and engagement with science and technology among all people to enhance lives and livelihoods, strengthen communities, and sustain the planet.
Contact:
Meredith Hamme, Chief Operating Officer
(202) 783-7200, mhamme@astc.org