Management biographies

Nicole Ginsburg Small

Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer

Nicole Small currently serves as the Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, where she directs all aspects of day-to-day operations, as well as the development of the Victory Park facility. Ms. Small joined the Museum's expansion team in 2001 and has been CEO since April of 2002. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, Ms. Small’s background includes time with McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, and multiple technology and venture capital firms. Ms. Small is a member of the Dallas Assembly, YPO, International Women’s Forum, Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, and The Hockaday School Board of Trustees. Small and her husband, Justin, live in Dallas and have two daughters.

Mike Costello

Vice President, Human Resources

Mike joined the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on October 25, 2011. Prior to that time, he held the position of Vice President, Organization Development for Sammons Enterprises, a privately held diversified holding company where he led the talent management and leadership development initiatives. Before joining Sammons, Mike had a 32-year career with American Airlines/American Eagle. Mike held a variety of operational and administrative positions while at American, but the bulk of his career was in the Human Resources field, retiring as the Vice President of People for American Eagle. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Dallas. Mike and his wife, Julie, are longtime residents of Colleyville, Texas, and have three daughters.

Terrell Falk

Chief Operating Officer

Prior to joining the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on January 4, 2010, Terrell E. Falk spent two years as President of the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture, a restored 1892 historic building. Falk has extensive experience in marketing, public relations, museum operations and theater exhibition, as well as film development and distribution. As a consultant for numerous museum projects, she assisted in the development of the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix and worked with the San Diego Museum of Natural History on their first large format film. Falk spent nearly 14 years as Director of Marketing and Communications at the Houston Museum of Natural Science during a period of unprecedented growth (1981-1995) where attendance grew from 150,000 to 2.5 million visitors annually. Between museum positions, Falk spent four years (1995-1998) as Vice President of Marketing and Distribution for JQH Film Entertainment, Inc., an independent film producer and distributor of large format films. She also spent nearly 10 years (1998–2007) at Cinemark Holdings, a $2 billion public theater exhibition company with theaters nationwide as well as internationally, heading up their Marketing Department as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. She holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and did post-graduate studies at the University of Virginia. Falk and her husband, Jim, who is President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth, have two adult children.  

Dr. Anthony Fiorillo

Curator of Earth Sciences

Dr. Anthony R. Fiorillo received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut and his Master of Science degree from the University of Nebraska. He completed his Ph.D. work in vertebrate paleontology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. For the next two years he was the Rea Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and then a museum scientist at the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California-Berkeley before becoming the Curator of Earth Sciences at the Dallas Museum of Natural History, a forerunner of the Perot Museum. He is also an adjunct associate professor at Southern Methodist University. Although Dr. Fiorillo has worked on fossil deposits ranging in age 1.7 billion years old to those only a few thousand years in age, most of his research has focused on the paleoecology of dinosaurs and the paleoenvironments of dinosaur-bearing rock units. As a result of his research interests, Dr. Fiorillo has led numerous expeditions in western North America, particularly Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and now Alaska, in addition to field work in Asia, Australia and South America. He has also published over 100 scientific and popular papers.  

Elisabeth Galley

Chief Development Officer

Prior to joining the Perot Museum of Nature and Science as Vice President of Development in June 2010, Elisabeth served as Vice President of Development at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, now known as the AT&T Performing Arts Center, for seven years. From 1998 to 2003, Ms. Galley was Vice President and Senior Development Consultant at the Arts Consulting Group based in Los Angeles, CA. Other positions during her 26-year career include Director of Development for the Colorado Springs Symphony, Colorado Springs, CO (1994-1998); Director of the Capital Campaign and Director of Development at the Handel & Haydn Society, Boston, MA (1986-1994); and Director of Marketing and Development at the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne, FL (1984-1986). Ms. Galley holds a BA in English and Folklore, a Certificate of Museum Studies and an MBA, all from the University of Delaware. She and her husband, Dave, live in Lucas (near Allen) and have twin adult daughters.

Steve Hinkley

Vice President of Programs

Steve Hinkley received his BS in Biology from Tufts University in 1995, when his passion for communicating science led him to directly into the teaching profession. During his career as a teacher and Science Department Head at a college preparatory school in Los Angeles, he taught physics, biology and physiology. In 2007, Steve joined the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas as the Director of Education; in this role, he supervised the staff, program development and funding related to the Museum's education programs. In January 2012, Steve was appointed Vice President of Programs following the merger of the Museum’s Education Department and Exhibits Department. He has been deeply involved in each phase of the exhibit content and programming development for the Museum.

Dan Kohl

Vice President of Creativity and Innovation

Dan Kohl graduated with honors in 1976 from Iowa State University with BS in Landscape Architecture. Dan has worked extensively throughout the world as an exhibit designer for more than 30 years. He has worked with many of the top museums, zoos, aquaria and theme parks and has collaborated with other top designers, architects and artists. Dan is recognized for his proficiency in crafting unique story-based exhibits and engaging visitor experiences. He recently coordinated the $110 million expansion of the Denver Art Museum and joined the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in August 2009.

Sally Pietsch

Chief Financial Officer

Sally Pietsch joined the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in July 1998 and has been the CFO since April 1999. She has more than 30 years of financial management experience, including engagements with three different nonprofit organizations, Big Five consulting firms, retail organizations and financial services companies. She is responsible for month-end close, internal and external reporting, coordinating the audit, preparing the budget, financial analysis, providing financial information for grant applications, and managing the complexity of the financial aspects of the merger of three entities in 2006. Pietsch has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rollins College and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.