Apple I cast in wax and painted for Museum Methods class. 1991.

My love for museums began while I was an Anthropology student at the University of Michigan when I got a part time job as a Fossil Preparator for the U of M Natural History Museum. I learned to clean, harden, and repair fossils—which I found very satisfying and challenging. I then took a class called Museum Methods, where I fell in love with molding, casting, painting, and model making.

I was hooked on Natural History Museums.

Diplocaulus skeleton I prepared and mounted for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. 1994.

My first full-time job after college was for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where I was hired to work for three years on their award-winning exhibition, Prehistoric Journey. There I learned how to prepare and mount dinosaurs and mammals onto armatures, more molding and casting techniques, welding, sculpting, and painting casts. I taught classes at night for their volunteer program. Sadly, I never got to go skiing.

Putting together the skeleton of a fossil whale for Back to the Sea. 1996.

After Prehistoric Journey opened, I returned to the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History to prepare, mold, and cast the fossil whale, Dorudon atrox for their whale evolution exhibition, Back to the Sea.

This whale has legs!

Detail painting a tree model in the Dzanga-Sangha diorama. 1998.

In a switch up from fossil care, I moved to Manhattan’s American Museum of Natural History to make models for their 2,500sf diorama of the Dzanga-Sangha rainforest in their Hall of Biodiversity.

Here I am applying aluminum foil to SUE’s fossil skull in preparation for a CT scan. 1999.

Chicago Illinois’s Field Museum of Natural History was my next stop. I worked as a preparator and head mold and cast maker for SUE, the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus rex. SUE opened to much acclaim in May, 2000.

Raising a toast after completing the underwater coral reef exhibition. 2004.

My first full time, permanent position was at the fabulous Delaware Museum of Nature and Science. I worked there for seven years learning how to create exhibitions, write labels, supervise volunteers, renovate exhibitions, and install traveling exhibitions.

Hanging out with a friend in the elk diorama. 2023.

In 2007, I took a position in the Exhibits Department at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia. I served as Sr. Director of Exhibits and Public Spaces up until March of 2023, when I left to start Sontchi Studios. At the Academy I supported a team of incredibly talented staff, managed large projects, collaborated with scientists and consultants, managed a collection of display specimens, and created over 20 original exhibitions. I’m so proud to have worked with such an incredible team of passionate professionals.

THANK YOU!

Dr. Marquisa LaVelle, Dr. Daniel Moerman, Dr. Phillip Gingerich, Dr. William Sanders, John Klausmeyer, Dr. Kenneth Carpenter, Gary Staab, Phil Fraley, Joyce Cloughly, Bill Simpson, Barbara Ceiga, Sara Hertz, George Dante, my family and friends, and everyone I may be forgetting who gave me a chance, inspired me, supported me, and taught me their secrets.