Expansion Planning Team
Project Leadership
Lara Litchfield-Kimber, Executive Director, MHCM – Ms. Litchfield-Kimber earned her B.A. magna cum laude from Amherst College in Biology and her M.S. from Cornell University. Formally trained in the agricultural sciences as a plant pathologist, she left research and teaching to become an entrepreneur, starting Fertile Minds, Inc., an informal science education consulting group. She made the leap to higher education fundraising at Cornell University before joining the science center field in 2004 at the Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY. Ms. Litchfield-Kimber is a distinguished leader in the international science museum field, with a proven track record of transforming and growing museums and programs. She was named a Noyce Leadership Fellow in 2010 at the recommendation of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, and in 2015 was the Athena Leadership Award Recipient for the Hudson Valley. She became the Executive Director of MHCM in September 2012.
Julie Bowen, Columbia Group (Toronto, ONT) – Ms. Bowen has worked in the museum and science center field for the past 27 years. She has led innovative product development teams of scientists, technologists, IT professionals, industrial and graphic designers, exhibit fabricators and website developers to produce more than $50 million in public exhibitions including permanent and travelling exhibitions at the Canadian Museum of Nature, TELUS Spark, the Ontario Science Centre as well as international clients. Julie has won several awards for her work and is a frequent presenter at international science center events. She holds a Master of Science (Biology) and a Bachelor of Science (honors) – Biology from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. In the past 10 years, as a consultant with Columbia Group she has worked with organizations and boards to conceive, develop and implement their vision, develop operational plans and processes, review and evaluate processes and manage culture change to align with organizational changes.
Katy Dwyer, President, Katy Dwyer Design, Inc. (Kingston, NY); MHCM Board Member – Ms. Dwyer has been working professionally in the design and marketing field since 1999. She has worked for creative firms whose client roster included companies such as BMW, ADP, and Deloitte. After moving to the Hudson Valley in 2006, she worked as Creative Director at a Kingston-based real estate marketing firm, helping to bring luxury NYC condos to market. In 2009, Ms. Dwyer formed Katy Dwyer Design, Inc., a Kingston-based branding and marketing firm that works with small- and medium-sized businesses and non-profit organizations to strategize, create, and manage their professional brands. Her firm is also known locally for outstanding design and website development. Additionally, Ms. Dwyer leads classes on marketing at the Women’s Enterprise Development Center‘s 60-hour Entrepreneurial Training Program in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Planning Team
Neil Alexander, Attorney, Cuddy + Feder LLP (Fishkill, NY)
Daniel Freedman, Dean, School of Science and Engineering at SUNY New Paltz (New Paltz, NY)
Margaret Glass, Director of Professional Development, Association of Science-Technology Centers (Washington, DC)
Peter Jacobsen, Director of Education, MHCM
Dave Jordan, Director of Exhibits and Facilities, MHCM
Harold King, Executive Vice President, Council of Industry (Newburgh, NY)
Brenda Lynch, Director of Museum Advancement, MHCM
Stephanie Ratcliffe, Executive Director, The Wild Center (Tupper Lake, NY)
Hayes and James Slade, Slade Architecture (New York, NY)
Karina Sotomayor, GLOBALFOUNDRIES
Steve Synder, CEO, Fleet Science Center (San Diego, CA)
Russell Urban Mead, The Chazen Companies (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Jennifer Van Tuyl, Attorney, Cuddy + Feder LLP (Fishkill, NY)
MCHM Board of Trustees
Dan Arnoff, Arnoff Moving & Storage
Diane Cicatello, CareMount Medical
Wesley Dixon, Vassar College
Katy Dwyer, Katy Dwyer Design
Pamela Edington, Dutchess Community College
Daniel Freedman, SUNY New Paltz
Theresa Gill, Dyson Foundation
Amy Greiner, Tompkins Mahopac Bank
Johnnieanne Hansen, Council of Industry
Kenji Larsen, Alpha Reactor Corp
Ilana Nilsen, Blue Moon Farm
Angela Thompson-Tinsley, Sholes & Miller, LLC – Co-President
Carla S. Tesoro, Esq., Dutchess County Family Court – Secretary
Mary Sontheimer, Astor Services for Children and Families – Treasurer
Karina Sotomayor, GLOBALFOUNDRIES
Russell Urban Mead, The Chazen Companies (Poughkeepsie, NY)