Susan leads the study design and implementation of the museum’s evaluations for exhibitions and programs. She is responsible for the overall assessment of family learning within the museum. In this capacity, she works with staff teams to outline goals, objectives and outcomes relative to evaluating the success of new experiences and reports on the effectiveness of the museum’s family learning efforts. She serves as the museum’s representative in the Children’s Museum Research Network, an initiative funded by IMLS and led by the Association of Children’s Museums and the University of Washington.
Before joining the museum, Susan was an evaluation consultant at the non-profit Institute for Learning Innovation for 9 years. In that capacity, she co-edited the books In Principle, In Practice and Free-Choice Learning and the Environment. Susan is a member of the American Evaluation Association and the Visitor Studies Association. She holds a MA in Museum Studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a BA in Sociology/Anthropology from Ohio Wesleyan University.