Alison Brown

Alison Rempel Brown joined the Science Museum of Minnesota as its 16th president and CEO in May 2016, bringing with her a firm investment in the museum’s mission of science and education that centers equity and a commitment to build strategic partnerships to expand its impact. She envisions the museum as an organization that shows all the people it touches through its programs in all 87 Minnesota counties – especially girls and youth of color – that there is a place for them in science.

Under Brown’s leadership, the Science Museum adopted a new strategic plan that focuses on the future of museums and their role in society – not only as places for fact-finding and fun but also as places that prepare the next generation of learners for an increasingly science-rich workforce. The plan positions the Science Museum of Minnesota as a place where visitors can turn for information and have important conversations about critical issues of their time – from race to mental health to climate change.

Together with a new senior leadership team, Brown launched significant new initiatives that leverage the Science Museum’s relationships and rich assets. 2018’s Year of the Engineer put the possibilities and potential of engineering careers in the spotlight. Water Planet is a cross-divisional project devoted to finding sustainable water solutions for more people through exhibits, research initiatives, and public programs. And in 2018, Brown led the museum to the adoption of a Statement on Equity and Inclusion that captures the museum’s vision to use STEM as a tool to advocate for justice and equity. One of the first of its kind for a science center in its boldness and honesty, the statement acknowledges that significant change must start from within.

Before joining the Science Museum of Minnesota, Brown served as Chief of Staff at the California Academy of Sciences, where she oversaw infrastructure and operations, ensuring the Academy’s resources were managed wisely, and the organization remained healthy and forward-looking. During her tenure, the Academy undertook a massive rebuilding project. Brown facilitated the creation of a shared vision for staff that led to one of the highest-rated museum visitor experiences in the nation.

Brown is an active member of the Board of Trustees for Pomona College and on the Board of Directors of the American Alliance of Museums. She received her Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where her area of concentration was nonprofit and government organizations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, with an emphasis in mathematics, from Pomona College.