CONCORD, NH – After a nationwide search, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center’s Board of Directors has selected Melissa Edwards, recently of Seattle, WA, as its new executive director.
A visionary non-profit leader with over 15 years of experience in educational program management at both Blue Origin and the Museum of Flight in Seattle, she is also no stranger to New England, having served as campus director at Boston’s Citizen Schools and taught in Hyde Park and Brookline, MA, – as well as teaching elementary school in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.
While at Blue Origin, Edwards impacted thousands of students through cutting-edge, inclusive programming, establishing a foundational internship program that revolutionized recruitment and training processes to significantly elevate diversity and retention in aerospace workforce development. Prior to her time at Blue Origin, Edwards spent 13 years in increasingly responsible leadership positions at the Museum of Flight, including director of aerospace education, director of digital learning and director of the museum’s Aerospace Scholars program. With a master’s degree in teaching from the Evergreen State College, Edwards has spent her entire professional career teaching and inspiring young people to greater achievement, especially in the STEM disciplines.
“As someone who believes in the important role inspiration plays in education, I am honored to take the helm of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center to continue to build on the legacy of America’s first astronaut and the first teacher in space,” says Melissa Edwards. “In my short time in Concord, the community’s love for the Center and its important role in inspiring the people of New England is clear. I look forward to continuing to build on the legacy of Jeanne Gerulskis and the Board of Directors and guiding the team in the development of new and captivating experiences for all. I look forward to a Center refresh and rallying our community’s support to make this new vision a reality. We will continue to innovate and create an inspiring space that ignites curiosity and fosters a love for space and STEM.”
Outgoing director Jeanne T. Gerulskis said she is leaving with a sense of gratitude.
“After 27 years at the helm, saying goodbye is bittersweet,” says Gerulskis, the who arrived in New Hampshire in 1998 to take the reins as leader of the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. She transformed the stand-alone planetarium into a 45,000 square-foot science center, and then shepherded its evolution from a state agency to an independent nonprofit air and space museum.
“In the time I have been here, well over 2 million people have come through our doors to learn all they can about the universe in which we live. I have such gratitude that our Board of Directors has done its due diligence in selecting the right person at the right time to lead this treasured institution into the future,” Gerulskis said. “I have gotten to know Melissa over the past few months as we’ve worked together on the transition, and I can honestly say I have full confidence that the museum will thrive under her leadership.”
Bart Fromuth, Chair of the Discovery Center’s Board of Directors, concurs.
“With Melissa Edwards as our new executive director, we look forward to making a stellar, long-lasting and positive impact on the children and families in New Hampshire, New England and beyond. We encourage everyone in the community to drop by the Discovery Center to welcome Melissa, experience our world class planetarium and new Science Playground, and to share ideas about exhibits and programs they would like to see in the Granite State’s own air and space museum.”
Dedicated to NH Space Pioneers Christa McAuliffe and Alan Shepard, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center features 21st century interactive exhibits on aviation, astronomy, Earth and space science, a full-dome, all-digital planetarium (one of only four 10K planetariums in North America) and a variety of science, technology, and engineering and mathematics programs. The engaging, robust, educational programs are geared towards families, teens, seniors, students, community groups and lifelong learners. For more information, visit www.starhop.com