Museum Leadership

Meenakshi Sharma currently serves as Acting President & CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Sharma leads a nearly 140-member team and partners with the Board of Directors to advance the mission of the Museum. Over her nearly eight-year tenure, Sharma has built an extensive repertoire of experiences in strategic thinking, operational leadership, and community engagement. Sharma continues to build upon the momentum of a transformational new campus that brings together innovative exhibits, award-winning education programs, leading scientific research, irreplaceable collections, environmental stewardship, and a legacy of discovery that spans more than a century.

Before being appointed to this position in May 2026, Sharma served as the Museum’s Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer. Sharma continues to lead or co-lead multiple Museum departments, including Visitor Experience, Operations, Education, Wildlife, and Exhibits. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Museum’s strategic plan, which has guided the organization through the completion of its $150 million transformation, the largest capital project in the Museum’s history. As the Museum reimagined its campus, programs, and accessibility initiatives, Sharma oversaw the execution of integrated programming, partnership alliances, and visitor engagement strategies that have redefined the Museum’s role for the 21st century.

Prior to joining the Museum in 2018 as Chief Strategy Officer, Sharma served as Assistant Dean of Career and Student Affairs at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. Her responsibilities included leadership roles in designing and executing corporate outreach and recruiting programs, managing multi-departmental teams and budgets, planning events, and managing vendor relationships. Sharma has been highly regarded as an empathetic, effective partner, exceptionally skilled at collaborating with faculty and staff to provide an excellent holistic experience for students and stakeholders. At the Museum, these attributes have translated into a singular ability to find innovative solutions to improve processes, enhance guest and client experiences, and achieve tangible results.

Sharma holds an executive MBA from Case Western Reserve University, a master’s in program management and community organization from the University of Maryland, and a bachelor’s in science from the University of Delhi. She has earned a Weatherhead School of Management Executive Coaching Certificate and a Women Staff Leadership Development Institute certificate, both from Case Western Reserve University.

In 2024, Sharma was named a Smart 50 Award honoree by Smart Business Magazine, highlighting leaders in Northeast Ohio and their ability to effectively build and lead successful organizations. In 2023, the same publication named her a Progressive Women honoree. In 2021, Sharma was named one of Cleveland Magazine’s Cleveland 500, earning a spot on its list of “leaders, doers, visionaries and idea generators who help shape the city.” She was also elected to that year’s Leadership Cleveland Class, a program that inspires leaders to advance the Northeast Ohio region.

Sharma is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and a mentor for the College Now and Coffee Connections programs at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Sharma lives in Westlake, Ohio with her husband. They can be found on the local tennis courts during their free time and also love to travel the world.

Melissa Santee serves as the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Chief Philanthropy Officer, a role to which she was appointed in 2018. As a member of the Museum’s senior leadership team, Santee oversees all aspects of philanthropy for the Museum. Her expertise has been a driving force behind the Museum’s $150 million Transforming the World of Discovery campaign, leading the organization to achieve the largest fundraising goal in its 100+ year history and raising more than $30 million in just two years. This successful campaign has allowed the Museum to complete a full reinvention of its campus and exhibits, with an inquiry-based, visitor-centered approach that tells a unified story of life on Earth. She also led the Museum’s Marketing and Communications strategy, aligning brand, audience engagement, and institutional messaging with the campaign to significantly expand visibility and impact. Her leadership elevated the Museum’s profile on both the national and international stage, positioning it as a leading voice in science, education, and community engagement. Finalized in December 2024, the Museum’s transformation has propelled it into the national spotlight and strengthened its role as a world-class institution.

Santee’s record of successful campaign leadership and her experience in strategic planning and execution make her a vital asset to the Museum’s overall mission. She has successfully led significant fundraising initiatives at each of the organizations she has served, and her career has been highlighted by numerous record-setting campaigns.

Prior to joining the Museum, Santee served as Director of Advancement at Mount Pisgah Christian School in Johns Creek, Ga., where she was responsible for all programming and events related to fundraising, alumni relations, stewardship, marketing, and communications. While in this role, Santee successfully led a $20 million comprehensive campaign—the largest in the school’s history—which resulted in the largest-ever gift from a foundation and the largest single gift from a family.

Previously, Santee served as Director of Development for the Palm Beach County Cultural Council in West Palm Beach, Fla. In this role, she created and managed a development program that included the solicitation and stewardship of campaign, annual, and planned gifts. Santee also formulated the strategy for a $6 million capital campaign, raised more than $400,000 in major gift support, and planned and executed the council’s annual gala, achieving a 22% increase in attendance and a 21% increase in revenue.

From 2001 to 2010, Santee held fundraising and leadership roles at Case Western Reserve University. As the Executive Director of External Relations at the Weatherhead School of Management, she supervised and developed the school’s overall fundraising strategy. In this position, Santee raised more than $10 million in major gift support—an increase of 236%—and more than $850,000 in annual fund revenue, an increase of 155%. Previously, she served as the Associate Dean of Development & Public Affairs for the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, overseeing all aspects of institutional advancement including fundraising, external relations, and alumni affairs. Her efforts led to increased alumni participation in the annual fund.

In 2025, Santee was named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business’s Women of Influence, an award that honors the dedication and achievements of Northeast Ohio's top female business leaders. In 2024, Santee was named a Progressive Woman honoree by Smart Business magazine. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, an organization that promotes stewardship, ethical fundraising, and the advancement of philanthropy. She is also a member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, a global nonprofit association dedicated to empowering educational advancement professionals to fulfill their missions. She serves as a Board Member of Family Planning Services of Lorain County.

Santee holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Relations from the University of Toledo. She lives in Avon, Ohio, with her husband and the couple’s three children, two of whom are in college.

Chris Riddle became the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s first Chief Digital Information Officer in January 2026. In this role, Riddle brings more than 20 years of experience as a senior information technology leader, with deep expertise in digital strategy, cybersecurity, enterprise risk management, and organizational governance. Riddle also oversees the Museum’s Information Technology department and serves as a key member of the institution’s senior leadership team.

Riddle joined the Museum from College Now Greater Cleveland, where he served as Senior Director of Information Technology. Prior to this role, he served as Manager of Information Technology at JumpStart, Inc., and as Manager of Information Technology Services at College Now. Riddle also served as a Strategic IT Advisor to the Museum in 2024, volunteering his expertise to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Museum’s IT governance, cybersecurity posture, and operational readiness in advance of its Grand Opening. His work helped strengthen the institution’s digital foundation during a pivotal moment in its transformation.

In his role as Chief Digital Information Officer, Riddle is responsible for developing and executing an enterprise-wide technology strategy that supports operational excellence, protects institutional assets, and delivers strong return on investment. He also serves as a subject-matter expert across the organization, ensuring technology solutions align with the Museum’s scientific, educational, and visitor-focused goals.

Dr. Nicole Burt began working at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 2014. Her position as Curator of Human Health & Evolutionary Medicine is part of the legacy of the Museum’s 2007 merger with HealthSpace Cleveland, which made human health a cornerstone of the Museum’s mission and programming. Dr. Burt facilitates the Museum’s ongoing commitment and connection to Cleveland’s medical and health communities. She is an advocate for fostering equitable partnerships between scientists, museums, and the communities with whom they work. As part of this commitment, she has taken on service roles to support community health in Cleveland, such as serving as co-chair and a member of the Cleveland Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition Steering Committee.

Dr. Burt is a biological anthropologist who works with both archaeological and modern human populations. Her research centers around the question “What does it mean to be healthy?” and utilizes the best research and educational practices to promote understanding and empower the Museum community to take action. Her interdisciplinary approach combines many methods, including histology, molecular analysis, and even interviews, to explore health through the lens of evolutionary medicine. Methods formation and testing are a key part of her research program, with a focus on microsampling innovation and applying techniques to new fields. In addition to her anthropological research, Dr. Burt contributes to the literature on bioethics in museums, informal learning pedagogy, and creating evolutionary medicine–informed curricula for medical education.

Much of Dr. Burt’s anthropological research uses a technique called stable isotope analysis, which measures the ratio of heavy to light stable isotopes—forms of elements (e.g., carbon or nitrogen) that have the same atomic number but a different number of neutrons—in a sample. Isotopes can be used to reconstruct past diets, study migration, or understand molecular preservation of samples. Dr. Burt’s microsampling technique even allows for reconstruction of maternal diet during pregnancy by analyzing the formation of recovered baby teeth.

Dr. Burt earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Alberta, a master's degree in forensic science from Michigan State University, and a bachelor's degree from Beloit College.

Research areas: Diet and health, food access, bioethics, early-childhood feeding practice, One Health, osteology, stable isotope reconstruction, methods testing, informal learning pedagogy

Dr. Caitlin Colleary is a vertebrate paleontologist with expertise in the molecules that preserve in fossilized bone. She is particularly interested in the question "What is a fossil?" In the last few decades, it has become clear that this question is much more nuanced than previously considered and that original biological information has the potential to preserve on long timescales.

Dr. Colleary explores how incorporating new techniques and technology can make it possible to examine fossils on a molecular scale, uncovering information previously inaccessible. She has studied pigment preservation in fossilized soft tissues and integument. She is especially interested in fossils that are not considered to be exceptionally preserved, such as bones and teeth, which are commonly found in the fossil record but may also contain soft tissues. Discovering and studying soft tissues and molecular data in the fossil record have the potential to expand what we currently know about ancient animals.

Dr. Colleary started her academic journey at Los Angeles Valley College and transferred to UCLA, where she received a B.A. in anthropology. She received her M.Sc. in paleobiology from the University of Bristol and her Ph.D. in geosciences from Virginia Tech. Before joining the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in January 2020, she was the Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute.

Dr. Emma Finestone uses archaeological fieldwork to investigate adaptive shifts in the human lineage that relate to the early manufacture and use of stone tools. The origins of toolmaking have important implications for our ancestors’ relationship with their environment and their ability to forage for a wide range of food resources. Dr. Finestone’s field projects in eastern Africa span evolutionary changes over the past 3 million years and focus on reconstructing the mobility, range expansion, and landscape use of toolmakers to illuminate how early tool technology facilitated the spread of human ancestors around the globe. She studies some of the earliest-known stone tools, which were used to butcher hippos more than 2.6 million years ago. Her work has received awards from the National Science Foundation, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, and the American Association of Biological Anthropologists.

Dr. Finestone is passionate about science communication and outreach. She is enthusiastic about sharing international fieldwork in human origins with the Cleveland community by acting as a local resource and ambassador for science. Before joining the Cleveland Museum of Natural History as Assistant Curator of Human Origins, Dr. Finestone served as Group Leader of Archaeology and Head of the Archaeology Laboratory Unit at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany. Previously, she served as an instructor at Lehman College and Hunter College and as a research affiliate of the National Museums of Kenya.

Dr. Finestone received her Ph.D. in biological anthropology in 2019 from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. Prior to her time at CUNY, she worked in the Conservation and Science Department at the Lincoln Park Zoo studying the foraging and tool behaviors of chimpanzees and gorillas. Dr. Finestone earned a B.A. with honors in anthropology and biology from the University of Chicago in 2010.

Research areas: Oldowan, paleoanthropology, lithic analysis, hominin evolution

Dr. Elizabeth (Ebeth) Sawchuk is a bioarchaeologist who studies modern human evolution and population history in Africa over the past 50,000 years. Her interests include how herding and farming spread into sub-Saharan Africa beginning approximately 5,000 years ago, and how ancient peoples navigated issues of climate change, shifting economic and land-use strategies, and contact with foreign groups. Her work integrates diverse lines of evidence from archaeology, skeletal biology, dental anthropology, and ancient DNA to understand how past peoples coped with major changes in their world and what lessons can be learned from their experiences.

Dr. Sawchuk has worked at field sites across eastern Africa and maintains an active research program in Kenya in collaboration with the Turkana Basin Institute and the National Museums of Kenya. Her research has been published in journals such as Antiquity, African Archaeological Review, the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Nature, Science, Science Advances, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and PLOS One (for more information, check out Dr. Sawchuk’s Google Scholar profile). Her work is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Turkana Basin Institute, and the National Geographic Society.

Dr. Sawchuk advocates for ethical research in anthropology; community-based approaches; and equity, diversity, and inclusion. She is committed to fostering equitable partnerships between archaeologists, curators, and the communities with whom they work, as well as developing best practices for museums’ stewardship of and policies for research on human remains. Recently, she co-organized the first ancient DNA and DNA conference held in Africa, hosted by the National Museums of Kenya.

Dr. Sawchuk earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Toronto and bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in anthropology, from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, she served as Banting Postdoctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta, Canada. She holds additional academic affiliations as an Adjunct Professor in Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio; a Research Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University, New York; and a Research Associate with the Turkana Basin Institute, Kenya.

Research areas: Bioarchaeology, ethics, health and disease, dental anthropology, ancient DNA, Africa