President
Mr. Gary Nichols
President/Agent
The Winchester Group

Vice President
Ms. Dena K. Kent
Executive Director
Orthopedics and Rehabilitative Services
Winchester Rehabilitation Center

Secretary
Ms. Mary Margaret Wise
Philanthropist/Community Volunteer

Treasurer
Ms. Margaret Arthur
Certified Public Account
Rutherford and Johnson, PC

Dr. Karen Huff
Professor of Education
Shenandoah University

Mr. Joseph DeZarn
Director of Marketing/Communications
Rubbermaid Commercial Products

Dr. Ann Denkler
Professor of History
Shenandoah University

Ms. Andrea Boright

Senior Software Developer

SAS Institute in Cary, NC

Ms. Rieman C. Royston
HN Funkhouser

Ms. Mary Bruce Glaize
Educator/Philanthropist/Community Volunteer

Ms. Danielle Armstrong
Lodge Construction, Inc.

Mr. Kevin Callanan, CFRE

Executive Director

Winchester Medical Center Foundation

Ms. Margaret W. McKee (non-voting)
Executive Director
Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum

Peggy McKee, Executive Director

Peggy is one of the three founders of the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. An educator and a Mom, Peggy has dedicated her adult life to the enrichment of child development in the greater Shenandoah Valley area. She also is the founder of the Lord Fairfax Association for the Education of Young Children. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Special Education from Radford University, and a Master of Education in Human Development from George Mason University.

Dee Dee Barbour, Capital Campaign Director

Dee Dee is the Capital Campaign Director with the Discovery Museum. As a member of senior staff, Dee Dee is responsible for development of the campaign strategic plan and works with the Board of Directors, the Steering Committee and volunteer leadership in executing the plan. Her mission is to gather the funds necessary to expand the museum into a newly constructed building and outdoor parkland in Winchester’s Jim Barnett Park.
Dee Dee graduated from Mountain State University with a bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership, Management and Development. She was a business and forecast analyst with Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP) before joining the Discovery Museum. Prior to RCP, Dee Dee built the majority of her career with Hester Industries. There she held several positions; the most recent, of which, was project manager for sales and marketing. As a Winchester native, Dee Dee is ecstatic to be part of the fundraising efforts to build the “first of its kind” platinum-level rated building in her home town.

Martha Wolfe, Exhibits Director

Martha is a founder of the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. Since 1996, she has directed the purchase, design, production, and maintenance of the Museum’s exhibits.  A naturalist, a writer, and a horsewoman, she holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Jan Kirby, Director of Education

Jan has served as Director of Education and programs at the Discovery Museum since 1996, developing the educational programming currently offered by the Museum. In this capacity, Jan presents programs to schools and home educators. She presents programs for parents using children’s literature to learn science process skills. Jan is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in Hispanic Civilization. Also, she is a certified, experienced Montessori teacher. Jan is bi-lingual and serves as an English for Speakers of Other Languages instructor under the Northern Shenandoah Valley Adult Education program at the Dowell J. Howard Center.

Geb Bennett, Paleontology Collection Manager

gbennett@discoverymuseum.net

Geb occupies the Paleo Lab at the entrance to the Discovery Museum. He has served as Paleontology Collection Manager and fossil preparator for the Museum since 2001. As a member of an Air Force family, most of Geb’s childhood years were spent traveling. His career in paleontology allows him to travel extensively. Geb has graduated from Mary Washington College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology. Prior to coming back to Virginia, he held positions at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana; the Dallas Museum of Natural History, and the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. While at the Discovery Museum, Geb has pursued a field program in the badlands of Montana. Several projects have grown from this field program, one of which involves island biogeography that represents Geb’s thesis topic for a master’s degree at George Mason University. His work on the remains of the tiny vertebrate animals of the Hell Creek Formation of eastern Montana is underway, as well. Geb is deeply involved in planning new paleontology exhibits and a preparation laboratory in the new Discovery Museum.

Mark Lawson, Gallery Manager

Mark has held the position of Gallery Manager at the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum since 2000. Functioning as museum host, he greets visitors, monitors the floor activity and safety, and gets to know the children and their families. He also heads up the preschool programs, after school outreach, birthday parties, and many of the summer camps. Mark is a career professional with over 30 years experience on the front lines of early childhood education, youth programming and family service. He was a Child Development Associate trainer, and has held positions in a wide range of settings and with children ranging in ages from two to 18. These include public and private childcare, Head Start programs, inclusive and special needs programs, before and after school programs, recreational programs, and summer camps. When not at the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, Mark is a practicing artist, musician and writer. He specializes in mural work and has his own digital art business.

Niki Wilson, Director of Marketing and Development

Niki joined the Discovery Museum in the spring of 2004. She graduated from Shenandoah University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. Her responsibilities include raising money for the Discovery Museum’s annual operating fund, managing its membership program, serving as editor/designer of the Museum’s newsletter, marketing communications and advertising, and for the Museum’s public relations activities.

Peggy Doerwaldt, Business and Operations Manager

Peggy has been with the Discovery Museum since the Fall of 2004. As Business and Operations Manager, Peggy’s responsibilities include annual and capital finance, grants, benefits, daily business and facility/operations, staff and human resource management. Peggy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English from California State University, Long Beach. She received her Master’s in Education, and her license to teach English 6 – 12, from Austin Peay State University in Tennessee.

Sarah Gemmell, Manager, Museum Gift Shop
and Art in the Making Art Studio

Sarah Gemmell is the Manager of the Museum Gift Shop and the Art in the Making Art Studio. She graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from Shepherd University.