WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Noyce Foundation, in collaboration with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), today announced the participants in a fifth round of yearlong sponsored fellowships, as well as plans to recruit more leaders in the following year, with the aim of increasing the public impact of science centers, museums, and related institutions. The Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI) brings together leaders in informal science education from around the world to act as change agents at the crossroads of societal trends, global issues, and the cutting edge of science. h2. See attachment below for full list of past and current Noyce Fellows who are Ecsite members.

Through their NLI Fellowship experience, 18 senior-level executives from science centers, children’s museums, natural history museums, and field-based institutions will gain access to knowledge, tools, promising practices, and professional networks that increase their capacity to lead effectively and to advance innovation in their own institutions, in their home communities, and in the broader field. These remarkable leaders were selected because they are well-positioned to influence other senior executives in their institutions and communities.

“The NLI Fellowship will help to prepare the next generation of leaders to extend the impact of science centers and museums deeper into their local communities and to increase understanding and excitement about science,” said Dr. Geno Schnell, NLI program director.

NLI envisions an essential and transformative role for science centers and other institutions in the engagement of citizens of every age in understanding crucial science-related issues. Leaders of such innovative hubs are supported and challenged by the Noyce Leadership Institute to make the individual, organizational, and community changes required to realize this vision. From 2008 to 2011, 70 Fellows have participated in NLI. These individuals represent 59 institutions from 21 nations.

The 2012–2013 Noyce Leadership Fellows were selected through a competitive process by a committee composed of professionals representing the fields of informal science education and executive leadership. The Fellowship program provides an action-learning framework via a mix of face-to-face sessions, executive coaching, peer learning, audio conferencing, and other learning strategies over a year, followed by ongoing Fellow alumni activities.

The 18 Noyce Fellows and their Strategic Initiative Sponsors are:

Accokeek Foundation, Maryland

• Fellow: Lisa Hayes, President & CEO
• Sponsor: Wilton C. Corkern, Senior Adviser
• Strategic Initiative: Create a national model in Piscataway Park for connecting people to the environment through interpretation of the indigenous cultural landscape of the Piscataway people.

American Museum of Natural History, New York

• Fellow: Lauri Halderman, Senior Director, Exhibition Interpretation
• Co-Sponsor: David Harvey, Senior Vice President for Exhibition
• Co-Sponsor: Lisa J. Gugenheim, Senior Vice President, Institutional Advancement, Strategic Planning & Education
• Strategic Initiative: Develop a clear understanding of the interests, wants, and needs of our visitors, including underserved audiences, to inform the museum’s decision-making on major temporary exhibits.

Boston Children’s Museum, Massachusetts

• Fellow: Tim Porter, Project Director, Education
• Sponsor: Leslie Swartz, Senior Vice President of Research and Program Planning
• Strategic Initiative: Explore uses of current technology to better serve our audience, and create new and sustained connections between the museum and our local community through accessible technologies.

Copernicus Science Center, Poland – Ecsite member

• Fellow: Irena Cieślińska, Deputy Director
• Sponsor: Robert Firmhofer, CEO
• Strategic Initiative: Create a space that encourages adult visitors to become engaged, building a sense of commonality and respect for different viewpoints, and stimulating discussion about the vision for Poland’s future development.

Lawrence Hall of Science; University of California, Berkeley

• Fellow: Gretchen Walker, Public Science Center Interim Director
• Sponsor: Elizabeth Stage, Director, Lawrence Hall of Science
• Strategic Initiative: Make increased service to three local school districts with large underserved populations central to a new strategic and business plan for the Lawrence Hall of Science.

Madison Children’s Museum, Wisconsin

• Fellow: Brenda Baker, Director of Exhibits
• Sponsor: Ruth Shelly, Executive Director
• Strategic Initiative: Create a community-based partnership that increases opportunities for children to use design thinking and digital media, not as passive participants, but as investigators, citizen scientists, storytellers, and cultural change agents.

Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC

• Fellow: Erika Shugart, Deputy Director
• Sponsor: Patrice Legro, Director
• Strategic Initiative: Transform the Koshland Science Musuem’s online presence from a unidirectional provider of information to a community that helps people use science to solve problems.

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

• Fellow: Patricia Ward, Director, Science and Technology
• Sponsor: Kurt Haunfelner, Vice President, Exhibits and Collections
• Strategic Initiative: Develop an exhibit-based Energy Simulation and integrated curriculum that positions MSI as a convener for Chicago-area students, the public, and energy experts supporting the ongoing education of the community.

Museum of Science, Boston

• Fellow: Christine Reich, Director of Research and Evaluation
• Co-Sponsor: Wayne Bouchard, Chief Operating Officer
• Co-Sponsor: Britton O’Brien, Vice President, Human Resources
• Strategic Initiative: Establish policies, practices, and procedures that support sustained and continuous improvement toward greater inclusion for people with disabilities at the Museum of Science, Boston.

National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation / Miraikan, Japan – Ecsite member

• Fellow: Yasushi Ikebe, Principal Investigator of Science Communication
• Sponsor: Mamoru Mohri, CEO
• Strategic Initiative: Establish an initial profile of a new research center for science communication.

Natural History Museum, London – Ecsite member

• Fellow: Ian Jenkinson, Museum Manager
• Co-Sponsor: Ailsa Barry, Head of Interactive Media
• Co-Sponsor: Andy Polaszek, Keeper of Entomology
• Strategic Initiative: Provide and test three community engagement initiatives for the Natural History Museum focusing on social media and virtual visitor forums, a citizen panel, and models for engaging international partner communities.

Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Netherlands – Ecsite member

• Fellow: Paul Voogt, Director, Public Programs
• Sponsor: Edwin van Huis, CEO
• Strategic Initiative: Reinvent Naturalis as a network museum, which means not only working for or with community, but incorporating community into the primary process.

New York Hall of Science, Queens, New York – Ecsite member

• Fellow: David Kanter, Director, SciPlay, Center for Play, Science & Technology Learning
• Sponsor: Margaret Honey, President & CEO
• Strategic Initiative: Collaboratively develop and test programmatic models with school district partners that support Queens middle grades science teachers using play-based instruction to bridge the science center to their classrooms.

Science Museum of Minnesota

• Fellow: Bob Breck, Director of Marketing & Membership
• Sponsor: Paul Martin, Senior Vice President of Science Learning
• Strategic Initiative: Create partnerships between the museum and community organizations to provide a “science-based” sounding board for political policy discussion.

Science Museum Oklahoma

• Fellow: Sherry Marshall, Director of the Oklahoma Museum Network
• Sponsor: Don Otto, CEO
• Strategic Initiative: Through a statewide partnership, foster meaningful community connections by promoting a culture of open exploration and inquiry in five unique museum settings.

Thanksgiving Point Institute, Utah

• Fellow: Blake Wigdahl, Vice President, Design and Programming
• Sponsor: Mike Washburn, President & CEO
• Strategic Initiative: Become Utah’s center for developing sustainable ways to grow and connect with food by building a local community food network that leverages the story and resources at Thanksgiving Point.

The Franklin Institute Science Museum, Pennsylvania

• Fellow: Dale McCreedy, Director, Gender & Family Learning Programs
• Sponsor: Frederic Bertley, Vice President, Science and Innovation
• Strategic Initiative: Envision and create structures that facilitate ongoing community and museum communication and integration, with a fundamental goal of establishing a coalition of cross-community expertise for collaborative science learning.

Universeum, Sweden – Ecsite member

• Fellow: Carina Halvord, Deputy Managing Director & Head of Development
• Sponsor: Lars Rehnman, CEO
• Strategic Initiative: Create an Entrepreneurial Learning Center through partnerships with key stakeholders for training pre-school and compulsory schoolteachers, providing them with tools ensuring students the best possible educational experience.

The Noyce Foundation and its partners are proud to announce a sixth NLI Fellowship in 2013-14. Senior-level leaders who are interested in learning more about the application process should visit www.noycefdn.org.

The Institute bears the name of Robert Noyce, co-founder of Intel and inventor of the integrated circuit. His work in leading science, engineering, and technology to a whole new level of innovation — as well as the creation of new industries — is legendary. Known for his integrity, authenticity, character, inclusiveness, and continuous innovation, Noyce’s legacy continues to serve as a standard for leaders today.

ASTC is a global nonprofit organization of science centers and museums committed to raising public understanding of science’s role in solving critical societal issues and its value in igniting and nurturing the innovative spirit that people of all ages need for success in today’s world. Through strategic alliances and global partnerships, ASTC strives to increase awareness of the valuable contributions its science center members make to their communities and the field of informal science learning. Founded in 1973, ASTC now numbers nearly 600 members in 45 countries, and its members include not only science centers and museums, but also nature centers, aquariums, planetariums, zoos, botanical gardens, and natural history and children’s museums, as well as companies, consultants, and other organizations that share an interest in informal science education.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development.

Primary funding for the Noyce Leadership Institute comes from the Noyce Foundation, with additional support to date from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation.