Museum Director Honored by YWCA Greater Cleveland
Dr. Evalyn Gates, executive director and CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, has been named a 2017 Woman of Achievement by YWCA Greater Cleveland. Dr. Gates and other honorees were recognized at an awards ceremony held in Downtown Cleveland on Monday, May 8.
Now in its 41st year, the Women of Achievement Awards recognize leaders from the Greater Cleveland Community who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments through their careers and community service, who have demonstrated true leadership, mentored others and exemplified YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.
“These influential leaders have expressed bold visions for our community and their workplaces,” says Margaret Mitchell, YWCA Greater Cleveland President and CEO. “These women have excelled in their careers, and they are dedicated to changing lives in our region — and beyond.”
YWCA Greater Cleveland CEO Margaret Mitchell informs Dr. Evalyn Gates she will receive a Women of Achievement Award
This year, YWCA Greater Cleveland presents Dr. Gates with this prestigious award in recognition of being an energetic champion of science literacy for children and adults, for the empowerment of women scientists and for racial and gender equality.
Dr. Gates has been Executive Director and CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History since 2010, and has continued to lead the Museum to be a destination for science experience and exploration, science education and scientific research and discovery. She has also led the Museum’s Centennial Transformation Campaign — which seeks to reinvent the Museum experience by revolutionizing the integration between real-time scientific discovery in the field and in research labs with visitor and classroom experience.
In addition, under Dr. Gates’ leadership the Museum has maintained a focus on addressing the critical issue of a nation lagging in science education by working to improve the scientific literacy of Northeast Ohio communities and encouraging students, especially women and minorities, to pursue STEM careers.
Dr. Gates to prominence nationally for her work in transforming science education institutions and to improve science education and broaden opportunities for women and minorities in science careers. Two local educational programs she has championed, the Inspire: Reach Every Child program for second graders in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Dare to Explore Science for girls in grades 5 through 8, have earned accolades for the Museum. In addition, Dr. Gates has strengthened and expanded existing community relationships, including with the Cleveland Public Library – which now allows Cleveland families to “check out” an admission pass for a day at the Museum.
On a national level she serves on the Panel on Public Affairs for the American Physical Society, which addresses these issues.
Inspire: Reach Every Child brings every 2nd grader in the CMSD to the Museum for a hands-on, engaging science education experience
Dr. Gates has expertise in the fields of cosmology and particle physics. Her research interests span the cosmos — from the tiniest particles to its most massive objects. She worked to map the curves of dark matter in space and study white dwarfs, which are fossil stars. The technique that she used for this research, called gravitational lensing, became the centerpiece of her 2009 book, Einstein’s Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe.
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