Chair: Nancy Best

Chair-Elect: Lane Britain

Secretary: Andrew Gould

Treasurer: Meghna Sharma

Linda Silver, Ed.D. | Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer

Linda Silver, Ed.D., joined the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in July 2017 as the Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer. Under her leadership, the Perot Museum celebrated its 10th anniversary year and expanded its impact to more than 11 million people since its opening. Remaining singularly focused on the Museum’s mission of inspiring minds through nature and science, Linda has delivered year-on-year surpluses allowing the Museum to make critical investments back into its staff, exhibit floors, and education programs, all the while ensuring financial aid remains available to allow every school in North Texas to benefit from the Perot Museum’s many science education initiatives. In 2020, Linda doubled down on the Museum’s commitment to advancing new knowledge by unveiling a state-of-the-art science and collections facility which houses the Museum’s paleontology team, their laboratories and 150,000 scientific specimens.

Prior to leading the Perot Museum, Linda worked for the government of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where she served as associate director of the Technology Development Committee. While in this position, she oversaw the creation and growth of informal science education initiatives designed to build a sustainable and diversified knowledge economy aimed at integrating the emirate into the global ecosystem. Prior to this position, she spent eight years as the president and CEO of Great Lakes Science Center – one of the nation’s leading science and technology centers. She led the center in its first-ever strategic planning process and achieved a financial turnaround, taking the institution from operating losses to a balanced budget and creating a 75% earned-revenue business model. Linda began her museum career at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County where she spent 13 years in positions of increasing responsibility which culminated in the role of vice president of Education and Guest Relations for the 5 museums that comprised the NHMLAC family of museums.

She holds degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles – Bachelor of Arts; Pepperdine University – Master of Business Administration; the University of Southern California — Doctorate of Education and Harvard Business School – Executive Education Program. Linda is a passionate and experienced museum leader with an unparalleled track record of delivering exceptional science education, civic and community engagement, and operational excellence.

Anne Woods | Chief Financial Officer

Anne Woods joined the Perot Museum as Chief Financial Officer in March 2019. Prior to joining the Perot Museum, Anne served as Chief Financial Officer at the Crow Museum of Asian Art, where she led the museum’s strategic financial initiatives which culminated in the gift acquisition of the Crow Museum by the University of Texas at Dallas. In the previous 12 years, Anne consulted with museums across the United States spanning a diversity of disciplines from guest experience to operations to new openings. Early in her career, Anne served as General Manager of DisneyQuest in Chicago and attributes her passion for guest service to this early training with the Walt Disney Company. Of her past experiences, Anne is most proud of her precious years as a stay-at-home mom raising and home-educating three lovely daughters.

Anne holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Katherine Stenesen | Chief Development Officer

Katherine Stenesen joined the Perot Museum as Chief Development Officer in January 2020.  Prior to joining the Perot Museum, Katherine served as the Chief Development Officer at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.  During her eight-year tenure at United Way, Katherine led the fundraising team and secured more than $60 million in annual commitments through corporate giving campaigns, community giving, and major gifts.  Additionally, she restructured the United Way Foundation’s 100 million Unite Forever campaign, propelling the growth of resources for the organization’s endowment. Prior to United Way, she spent nearly eight years at Southern Methodist University, where she rebuilt the donor relations program resulting in increased donor acquisition, retention, and giving levels.

Katherine has a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from the University of Washington and a Master of Arts in Education from Seattle University.

Katherine and her husband, Drew, reside in East Dallas with their two daughters.

Drex Owusu | Chief Learning Officer

Drex Owusu joined the Perot Museum in April 2024 as Chief Learning Officer, overseeing its educational mission and community outreach. Before joining the Museum, Drex served as Chief Impact Officer at The Dallas Foundation, where he led their grantmaking, community engagement, and civic portfolio. Previously, Drex was Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce for the Dallas Regional Chamber, and before working in education, spent the first 15 years of his career in various corporate strategy roles, including at Accenture, FedEx Office, Blockbuster, and Civitas Capital. Drex earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Rice University, where he was a two-time Track and Field All-American in the triple jump. He lives in Oak Cliff with his wife, Joanna, and their three children, each of whom attend Dallas ISD schools.

Kraig Smith | Chief of Staff

Kraig Smith joined the Perot Museum in April 2019 as the Board Liaison and Executive Assistant to the CEO, and in the summer of 2020 assumed the role of Chief of Staff. Prior to joining the Perot, Kraig Smith spent 13 years in various positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, most recently as Administrator for the world renowned Paper Conservation Department (where he likes to boast he held a Michelangelo in his hands), and prior to that as Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs where he supported the Sr. VP for External Affairs in multiple areas including press management, crisis response, and government affairs. Raised in Texas, Kraig relocated back to the North Dallas area with his wife, Myriam, and their two young sons.

Kraig holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Texas at Austin, and an M.A. in Screenwriting & Playwriting, also from UT Austin.

Lorea Seidel | Chief People Officer

Lorea Seidel joined the Perot Museum in May 2022 as the first Chief People Officer. Before joining the Museum, Lorea spent more than 20 years working across all areas of human resources, most recently as Director of Human Resources for UWorld, a for-profit company offering educational support services to students and professionals. In the years prior, Lorea served as Director of Talent Management as well as Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Southern Methodist University and became a Leadership Development Consultant and Executive Coach through Aerie Leadership LLC. Even before taking on the role of Chief People Officer, Lorea had provided her consulting services, focused on helping organizations and leaders develop innovative, high-performing teams, to the Museum – experiences that provided both her and the Perot Museum opportunities to work together while cementing a strong, high-trust relationship.

Lorea holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations as well as a Master of Education in Community Counseling from Texas Tech University. She has received a grad-level executive coaching certificate from SMU; earned certifications as a Senior Human Resources Professional through HRCI and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM); and is one of approximately 700 people in the world to become a Dare to Lead™ Facilitator.

The Museum’s annual financial statements and annual reports to the community are available for download as PDFs. The purpose of these reports is to provide transparency to the community about our accounting and financial practices, as well as our accomplishments each year.