By KellyMurphy-Redd
Diane was born in Mobile, Ala., graduated from Niceville High School, earned her undergraduate degree from Huntington College, and her master’s degree from University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Armed with her chemistry and forensic science degrees, she moved to Salt Lake City. In her 20’s she was looking forward to seeing something different and broadening her horizons. She enjoyed working in a forensic toxicology lab doing cutting edge research. Diane will tell you television shows about crime scene investigation are not true to life. The script will combine six jobs into one character. Diane met her husband in Salt Lake City.
Diane and her husband moved to Cincinnati after they were married, where she worked for five years as a research chemist at the Food and Drug Administration. The Forensic Chemistry Center participated in a lot of criminal investigations. If someone had an adverse effect from some food or chemical, etc., her team would try to find out what was in there that made the person sick.
While in Cincinnati, her husband traveled a lot and was gone all week. They decided to move back to Fort Walton Beach in 1999. His family was there and her family was in Niceville. Diane quit work and became a full-time mom. She has taught as an adjunct professor at UWF since 2003 and joined the Emerald Coast Science Center (ECSC) board in the spring of 2014.
A couple of weeks into November, the ECSC director left to become a full-time teacher. The board asked Diane to be the interim director while they looked for a replacement. In 2015, Diane became the permanent director. It was a leap of faith. There was no money to invest in new exhibits and programs; there hadn’t been investments in a while, and the science center didn’t have the strongest reputation. It took a couple of years to change the perception. The experience of attending the science center needed to change between visits or why would anyone come back?
With no business experience, but plenty of ignorance and enthusiasm, Diane didn’t know how scared she should be. She started writing grants and, with board guidance, began to make friends in the community, improved the science center’s reputation, obtained some investments, generated more revenue and began to build small successes.
The ECSC generates revenue by charging admission. The staff hosts field trips from Okaloosa County, Walton County and Alabama. The center also provides home school programs. Fundraising programs along with personal and corporate donations help the science center keep moving forward.
When asked to share the greatest lesson she’s learned, Diane says it’s collaboration with our communities. The first two years were focused on investing and income generation to become stable. Then Covid happened. There were big concerns.
The science center board met weekly and the community stepped up. Diane gets emotional when she talks about the community support. The Fort Walton Chamber and Ted Corcoran were also there with support. Facebook generated donations of $5, $10 or $100. The science center was reinvigorated. Many people helped.
To say thank you, the ECSC offered free passes to the United Way, foster programs, guardian ad litem programs and Big Brothers. Anyone with EDT or SNAP can show their card and four people get in for $12. Normally the fee is $12 per person. Diane says the science center is not serving the mission if a lot of the population don’t have access. “Many families can’t afford admission and still pay bills. One of these kids could be the scientist that solves the next big problem.”
The ECSC houses 60 animals. There are birds, reptiles, tortoises, chinchillas, geckos, tarantulas, turtles, parrots, hedgehogs and hermit crabs to name a few. They name their animals after scientists. There are 14 employees including two animal care specialists who work 365 days a year, along with seven educators, three of whom work full-time and front desk personnel.
Among the many science center offerings, there are summer camps, a presence at festivals, libraries, day care centers, hosting birthday parties and even Girl Scout badge workshops.
Diane says no one can do this by themselves. Celebrating 10 years in the community, ECSC has exceeded its pre-pandemic numbers. But, there is still room to grow. As the only science museum in Okaloosa County, your gift helps close the STEAM education learning gap by providing successful, transformative educational opportunities for children. To support, visit https://www.ecscience.org/support. For more information, visit www.ecscience.org.
Views: 0
