Museum Staff

Carol Meagher has served as the KidZone Museum Executive Director since 2004. She leads the museum’s strategic direction, fund development, education, and operations. Carol has a Master’s Degree in Therapeutic Recreation and a BFA from California College of the Arts. Her creative background and understanding of children with various abilities are essential for the museum’s vision and creation of innovative programs and installations. Carol also studied Spanish language and Mexican culture at Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico and at Middlebury College Language School, enabling her to support the museum’s outreach staff in creating engaging and relevant programs that engage the Latino community. Contact Carol at director@kidzonemuseum.org

Mayra ensures that the museum and our events run efficiently including museum accounting, HR, and Guest Services. Mayra has worked at the museum as our front desk lead, and outreach coordinator to undeserved families in our region and still helps us reach as many families in need in our community. Mayra’s 5-year-old son, Angel, and baby daughter, Mia, have grown up at the museum and love all the fun opportunities KidZone has for free play and hands-on learning.

Jen ensures our education direction for programs and exhibits is innovative and meets the needs of the community. She also assists the Executive Director and Board members in administrative duties that pertain to donors and fundraising. Prior to working at the Museum, she served as a Museum board member for 5 years. Before that, she came to play at the museum with her young children who are now in college. Jen received her BS from UC Davis, and worked for the Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children before having kids and becoming a stay-at-home mom. She loves the idea of play as a child’s work, and ensures that all Museum programs and exhibits are filled with hands-on, inquiry based learning.

Karla coordinates Guest Services, Maintenance and our Volunteers, making sure KidZone is welcoming for families who speak English and Spanish. Karla grew up in Truckee and visited the museum as a child and again as a teen mother with the Sierra Teen Education and Parenting Program (STEPP). Karla enjoys engaging with our community as well as gaining knowledge about child development and fun activities she can do at home with her son.

Nataly advocates for underserved children and families in our community and makes sure they know about our complimentary bus service and scholarship programs. Nataly attends a multitude of community meetings to coordinate services for families. This includes our partnerships with the Child Abuse Prevention Council, Community Collaborative, First 5 Early Learning Coalition, Truckee Reads, as well as regional transportation and housing initiatives. Nataly has been visiting the museum since she was 4 years old and again as at teen mother with the Sierra Teen Education and Parenting Program (STEPP). From her tenure as a Medical Records Specialist at Tahoe Forest Women’s Center, she brings to the museum, her expertise in customer service for both Spanish and English speaking families.

Ileana is a museum educator. She is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has a B.S. degree and credential to teach hearing-impaired and mentally challenged youth, giving her added experience when working with our diverse audience of children and families. Ileana’s training at San Francisco’s Exploratorium has informed how KidZone Museum science programs give children the opportunities to directly observe and manipulate natural phenomena.

Holly ensures that programs and exhibits are held to our Museum’s standards of being innovative, interactive, and child-led. She also teaches Science in the Schools, Museum camps, and classes and programs provided to our visitors. Holly has a B.S. in Fine Arts and Early Childhood from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has worked with children in many capacities, including Therapeutic Recreation and as an art teacher for profoundly handicapped children. Holly values the open-ended and child-led play and discovery that happens at the KidZone Musuem.

Accounting Support: Supporting Strategies
Human Resource Services: Truckee HR
Legal Counsel: Steve Gross, Porter Simon
Web and Marketing Support: Alpen Lily Web Studio