MAPS 2021 Officer Elections

 
As a member of the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society, you have the privilege to vote for colleagues who will serve as your representatives on the MAPS Board. MAPS encourages your participation in this key activity that has a lasting impact on our organization.

MAPS members – check your inbox in January for your online voting invitation. Voting will be open from January 15th through January 31st 2021. We thank you for your participation in this election and in MAPS overall.
 

Election information from MAPS By-Laws

• Officers shall be elected on a mail-in or electronic ballot by the membership in January.
• Terms of office shall be for two years.
• The President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected in odd-numbered years, and the Board Members elected in even numbered years.
• Officers will assume their positions at the conclusion of the annual business meeting.

Review the candidates’ bios for the positions of President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer for MAPS 2021 Officer Elections in the table below.

President-Elect
Candidate	Candidate Statement
	TIM COLLINS Dear MAPS Colleagues: We have been through a very tough year, in many facets. Certainly, the way we live our lives has been involuntarily changed for a long time to come. I have found it amazing how we, as groups of regional, national, and international planetarians, have come together and persevered not just with each other, but for each other. While many of our individual organizations have suffered greatly, we have learned a great deal in a short time and have adapted to the circumstances the best we could. Since 2010, I have enjoyed serving as a member and a committee chair in our incredible organization. I have been given so much valuable knowledge and assistance from all of you over the years, and I am so glad we have such a great network of not just colleagues, but lifelong friends. Now, more than ever, it would be my honor to help lead our organization as President during these challenging times, through our next North American total solar eclipse in 2024, and beyond. Most sincerely, Tim Collins
	PATRICK MCQUILLAN My first experience with a planetarium occurred on a field trip to the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute in third grade. It was the best part of that field trip (even beating out the giant walk through heart). My professional experience with planetariums includes seven planetariums and positions including Planetarium Lecturer, Planetarium Educator, Assistant Director of Astronomy, Planetarium Director, Challenger Learning Center Director, 1999 SEPA Conference Host, Astronomy Program Producer, NSTA NGSS Advisory Board Member, STEM Education Specialist, and Vice President of STEM Education. Most recently I helped design and open the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. I have seen many trends in the planetarium field with hardware going from totally manual to fully digital, and programming going from live to pre-recorded to virtual. In these extraordinary times, planetariums are challenged more than ever to find ways to remain a relevant and trusted member of the community. They will need to find innovative ways to engage their diverse audience base, and to deliver those programs safely given the rapidly changing social distancing requirements. Now more than ever, school districts are going to be looking for leaders in educational program delivery to bridge the gap between in-person and online programs. The Planetarium should be seen as the go-to entity for consistently high quality programs and exhibits, not only by the local audience, but also across the state and nationwide. I always strive to find the most innovative, scalable, and exciting way to develop programs. A program cannot just be good; it has to be outstanding! I am honored to have been nominated, and I look forward to working with the Executive Committee to help make MAPS a valuable educational resource for MAPS members, schools, and the general public.
	NOREEN GRICE Thank you for nominating me for President-Elect of the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society - MAPS. Hello! My name is Noreen Grice and I currently serve as Founder and President of You Can Do Astronomy LLC. Planetarium Experience: My planetarium career began at the Charles Hayden Planetarium in Boston, MA where I worked as Presenter, Education Coordinator and Operations Coordinator over a 26-year span. I served as Planetarium Manager of the Gengras Planetarium/Travelers Science Dome Theater in West Hartford, CT for almost 6 years and I have also presented weekly live planetarium programs at different points in my career at Boston University, San Diego State University, Central Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University. When I first began working at the Boston Museum of Science, a group of blind students came to one of my planetarium shows and I quickly learned how inaccessible the planetarium could be for visitors who are blind or visually impaired. I began working on strategies and materials to make the planetarium more accessible for visitors of all abilities. Over the years, I authored six books on accessible and tactile astronomy and founded You Can Do Astronomy LLC. I have graduate degrees in astronomy and in business administration and have been a MAPS member since 1988. Candidate Statement: If elected as your MAPS President-Elect, I will work closely with the current MAPS President, Officers, Board and membership, to better understand how the organization operates and assist in completing identified goals, initiatives and responsibilities, including helping with the upcoming MAPS conference. As MAPS President, I’d like to introduce a new focus on engagement, connection and communication, beginning within the planetarium community and extending to those we serve as learners. I suspect that there are some educators who have been teaching under the dome but have no personal connection with MAPS, even though they are located within the MAPS region. They simply may not know about MAPS. I’d like to connect with all of them and bring them into the MAPS community to help grow our organization. Aside from the current COVID situation, if a planetarium is closed, we can find out why, find out what resources they need, and see if and how we might help. A situation may be as simple as a teacher who has been assigned to teach science in the planetarium with no planetarium training and needs some guidance or an administrator who is unsure of the value of maintaining their planetarium in the budget. Until we can meet in person, we can connect with planetarium instructors including those who use portables, virtually, and begin building relationships. I’d also like to increase communication among MAPS members by hosting virtual gatherings several times a year in addition to the annual conference. The Dome Dialogues have been a great role model of how important social interaction is, especially during these isolating times. Let’s plan to meet 2-4 times a year virtually and learn how and what everyone is doing and if anyone needs help. Let’s cross-promote programs to get visitors excited about their local planetarium as a destination for a variety of unique experiences. Then, as MAPS Past-President, I will share learned experiences during my term with the new President-Elect, mentoring and helping that person get “up to speed” while encouraging and supporting new creative initiatives. We are connected through the planetarium field and I think we can create solutions together to make the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society even stronger. Thank you for your consideration.
Secretary
Candidate	Candidate Statement
	AMIE GALLAGHER I remember my first trip to a planetarium. I was about eight years old. My mother took my sister and I to the Newark Museum. All I remember from that visit is that it was dark. Fast forward to senior year of high school, and my church youth group went to the Hayden Planetarium in NYC to see Laser Beatles. I had no idea at the time that soon, I would work in both of these facilities. After college, I got a part-time job at the Newark Museum’s planetarium. Part of the job included taking out Starlab to do shows. That was a great way to learn all the highways not right next to my house! From Newark, I got an internship at the Hayden Planetarium, which turned into eight years of education and production work, teaching thousands of visitors each week about the sky. While the Hayden was undergoing renovations, I spent my “free” time getting a Masters in Elementary Education. I left the Hayden and taught 5th grade in New Jersey for a year. I soon realized that my true passion was informal education, not being in a classroom every day. I was lucky enough to have a job come available at Raritan Valley Community College Planetarium just then. I’ve been at RVCC for the past 17 years. I’ve coordinated Project ASTRO and Family ASTRO, led MANY teacher workshops through the years, and am now Director of the Planetarium. I’ve been a member of MAPS since 1993, and Secretary of our organization for the past four years. I was excited to become a MAPS Fellow in 2016. I enjoy attending MAPS conferences to meet up with friends and colleagues. I always walk away from these gatherings with new information and ideas that I can incorporate into my planetarium immediately. Being part of the Executive Committee has allowed me to be part of the inner workings of MAPS. I love being able to help bring us forward as an organization. Our global society is in a state of transition right now. Our professional field is in a state of transition. Temporary (hopefully they are temporary!) closures of our buildings have forced us to become creative in how we continue to reach our audiences. Our MAPS region has some planetariums that have been able to reopen while others are still dark. I have found that the virtual environments we’ve shifted to have expanded our professional and educational horizons. I look forward to working with MAPS members near and far, as well as the Executive Committee, to keep lines of communication open and moving. We need to be in touch with each other more than once a year at conferences. After all, we are a community.
Treasurer
Candidate	Candidate Statement
	CARA MUSCIO Cara Muscio is currently overseeing all operations at the Novins Planetarium in Toms River, NJ. Cara began at the Planetarium as an on-call Presenter in 2013, eventually becoming the site’s first part – time Education Coordinator. In 2019, she took over management responsibilities, and has drawn new folks to astronomy by focusing on engaging interactive events. Originally trained as a phytoplankton taxonomist, Cara spent nearly 20 years in watershed management and water quality, from ecological research, to volunteer management and environmental education. In addition, she has taught a variety Environmental, Biological, and Earth science courses at local colleges, specializing in inspiring wonder and interest in science in non-majors. Cara ‘moonlights’ as a certified yoga instructor and singer/songwriter, and is always looking for opportunities to bring these skills into the dome.
	MIKE FRANCIS Mike Francis (MS, Ohio University, Interdisciplinary Studies, MA, Ohio University, Physics, BS Ed, Fitchburg State College, Physics) has been bringing Astronomy to schools, libraries and museums throughout New England and across the country for over thirty years. After ten years as a lecturer, photographer and writer at the Charles Hayden Planetarium at Boston’s Museum of Science, he branched out on his own with his Galileo Galilei the Starry Messenger, The Stargazer’s Apprentice and Night Skies programs. By combining science and theatre, Mike has been able to reach students who previously had no interest in the wonders of our Universe. In addition to his programs in schools, he has visited the Space Telescope Science Institute, Carnegie Science Center, the Franklin Institute, the National Air and Space Museum, astronomical conventions and numerous events during the International Year of Astronomy, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s use of the telescope. Mike is also a professional actor on stage, screen and television and a member of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actors Equity Association. As an actor educator he belongs to the International Museum Theatre Alliance, the International Planetarium Society, the Mid Atlantic Planetarium Society and SoloTogether (the organization of New England historical performers).