McALLEN - The Board of Trustees for the International Museum of Art & Science announces the hiring of Julie Johnson as its new president. Ms. Johnson comes to us from the Michigan Science Center where she served as Vice President of Education and Engagement and member of the Senior Executive Team.
Prior to the Michigan Science Center, Ms. Johnson was the Director of the Detroit Children’s Museum, overseeing management and operations. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a B.S. Degree in Integrated Science/Elementary Education. In addition to her museum experience, Ms. Johnson has extensive experience in teaching.
Ms. Johnson oversaw all daily program operations, developed and implemented short and long range plans, budgets, fundraising, and cultivating collaboration with regional cultural institutions and other partners; while also overseeing all informal and formal education content throughout the Michigan Science Center. Under her direction, the Science Center’s Outreach division doubled its community impact, increased its revenue and the number of programs delivered. Working with the Board of Directors at the Science Center and the Development team in the last year, she successfully raised over $1.3 million through corporate sponsorships.
Ms. Johnson was also the Project Manager for two federal grants and one local grant with total revenue of over $350,000. These programs are multi-year and have multiple large scale deliverables including a planetarium show, exhibits, teacher professional development opportunities, community outreach and informal programs.
In addition, Ms. Johnson was the project lead on all traveling/temporary exhibitions, even designing and coordinating installation of the last three in-house exhibitions at the Michigan Science Center with a focus on engaging the visitor.
As the Director of the Detroit Children’s Museum, Ms. Johnson oversaw the management and operations of the facility including daily operations, development, curatorial, finance, marketing, educational and planetarium programming. While under her supervision, the Detroit Children’s Museum came in under budget, increased its general and group attendance and steadily increased its membership.
The mission of the International Museum of Art & Science is to promote a deeper appreciation of the arts and sciences through its exhibitions, cultural events, and educational programs; and to preserve, expand, and display its permanent art and science collections. The Board of Trustees believes Ms. Johnson has the vision and expertise to fulfill the IMAS mission and we look forward to supporting her in these efforts.
Julie Johnson’s start date as the new President of IMAS is effective today (January 29th).