Museum Leadership

Sonia Winner became the 10th director of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in July 2018. In this role, she partners with a nearly 60-person Board of Directors and nearly 140 staff members to advance the mission of the Museum—an institution with $282 million in assets. For more than 100 years, the Museum has inspired a passion for science and nature in its visitors. It ranks among the top 10 natural history museums in the United States in terms of endowment, size of collection, and attendance.

Through the Museum’s transformation project and $150 million Transforming the World of Discovery campaign, Winner is spearheading a complete reimagining of the Museum’s campus and exhibits in a way that highlights the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. The pioneering reinvention will serve as a new model for natural history museums globally.

Prior to her appointment as CEO, Winner served as Acting Director of the Museum beginning in January 2018. She returned to the Cleveland area in January 2017 to join the Museum team as Chief Development Officer.

From 2011 to 2016, Winner served in leadership roles at Columbia University, culminating in a promotion to Vice President for University Development. In this role, she led all campaign and philanthropic efforts for Columbia’s most significant priorities, including global, program, and school-based strategies. Winner was recruited to Columbia to serve as Deputy Vice President for Professional Schools and Programs, and also served as Interim Vice President for University Development. She was part of the senior team that achieved $6.1 billion for the Columbia Campaign, which set an Ivy League record for largest funds raised in a single campaign.

Winner came to Columbia from Case Western Reserve University, where she spent more than a decade serving in associate dean roles at the Weatherhead School of Management and the Law School. She has worked with high-level philanthropists in East Asia, South Asia, Europe, and South America, as well as in the United States. Before entering the development field, Winner spent many years in law career services, becoming one of the first lawyers in the country to work in this capacity.

In 2023, Winner served as Co-Chair on The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Reaccreditation Committee for the American Museum of Natural History. Currently, Winner serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Visitors Committee for Cleveland State University College of Law. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Bar Association, the fifth-largest bar association in the country, focusing on issues of diversity and strategic planning. She chaired the Young Lawyers Section of the Bar Association and is a past president of the Law Placement Association of Cleveland. She volunteered as guardian ad litem on behalf of abused and neglected children, and served on the state board of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In 2024, Winner was named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business’ Women of Note, recognizing woman leaders who are leading Northeast Ohio to greater heights. She was also named to Cleveland Magazine’s Cleveland 500 list, recognizing Northeast Ohio leaders who are making an impact. In 2023, Winner was chosen as a Cleveland Business Journal Women of Influence honoree and named Cleveland Magazine’s Community Leader of the Year. In 2022, Winner was named a Smart Business Magazine Progressive Woman honoree and a graduate of the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program at Harvard Business School. In 2021, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Cleveland State University College of Law, elected to the 50 Club of Cleveland, and named a Tri-C Foundation Smart Women Awards honoree. She was selected in 2020 and 2023 for inclusion in the Crain’s Cleveland Business Power 150 list, which recognizes leaders of Northeast Ohio’s most influential organizations who are in a position to advance the region. In 2019, Winner received a Smart 50 award from Smart Business Magazine, which honors the top executives of the 50 smartest companies in Northeast Ohio, and was named one of Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People.

Winner was born at Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga, Philippines. She is married to Kevin F. O’Neill, a First Amendment scholar and professor.

Meenakshi Sharma serves as Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. In this role, to which she was promoted in October 2o22, Sharma leads or co-leads multiple Museum departments, including Education, Visitor Experience, and Wildlife. As a member of the executive leadership team, she has been instrumental in the development and implementation of the Museum’s new strategic plan, which is guiding the organization’s activities through the completion of its $150 million transformation, the largest capital project in the Museum’s history. As the Museum reimagines its campus, programs, and accessibility initiatives, Sharma has overseen the execution of integrated programming, partnership alliances, and visitor-engagement strategies that will help redefine 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 for improving processes, enhancing guest and client experiences, and achieving 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 biology 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 as 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 is married to her high-school best friend, Arindam Basu. They live in Westlake and love to travel abroad.

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 and has been instrumental in driving forward its $150 million Transforming the World of Discovery campaign—the largest fundraising initiative in the Museum’s history— raising more than $30 million in the last two years alone. This campaign supports a complete reinvention of the Museum’s campus and exhibits to make it a natural history museum unlike any other, with an inquirybased, audience-centered approach that tells a unified story of life and the forces that shape our planet.

Santee’s record of successful campaign leadership and her expertise 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 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 an officer with the Avon Athletic Boosters.

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.

Gavin Svenson, Ph.D., serves as the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Chief Science Officer, a role to which he was promoted in 2022. Dr. Svenson has been a driving force in the creation of new strategies to support the Museum’s mission and a bold reinvention of its campus and exhibits in an expanded, 375,000-square-foot facility. The transformed Museum will depart from the traditional timeline- and discipline-based format to place its audiences and scientific inquiry at the forefront. This innovative approach will position the Cleveland Museum of Natural History as a vital resource in the region and as a leader in the promotion of scientific literacy.

In addition to his role in the Museum’s transformation, Dr. Svenson oversees a research and conservation staff, a collection of more than five million specimens spanning diverse fields of science, the Nathan and Fannye Shafran Planetarium and Ralph Mueller Observatory, and more than 12,000 acres of protected and stewarded natural areas across Northeast Ohio. In line with the Museum’s reinvention, Dr. Svenson has led a reorganization of the Museum’s curatorial division and spearheaded a series of new curatorial appointments. This new structure will foster interdisciplinary research while allowing Museum scientists to more deeply integrate their groundbreaking research and the Museum’s vast collections into its public exhibits and education programs.

Dr. Svenson’s insights have been instrumental in shaping the direction and content of the transformed Museum. In 2021, he organized a national survey on scientific literacy which helped to inform the Museum’s vision for the future—a future in which the Museum is positioned to address the most pressing issues of our time, empower visitors to appreciate their connection with nature, and contribute continued scientific leadership as a world-class research institution. Dr. Svenson has guided and contributed to all aspects of the transformation project, collaborating with design partners and the Museum’s Research & Collections and Education teams throughout the process.

An entomologist with expertise in the biological diversity and evolutionary history of praying mantises, Dr. Svenson also serves as the Museum’s Curator of Invertebrate Zoology. He is regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on praying mantises, and the results of his research have revealed new evolutionary patterns among these insects and prompted important changes in their traditional scientific classification. More information about Dr. Svenson’s research is available at CMNH.org/svenson.

Dr. Svenson joined the Museum as the Curator of Invertebrate Zoology in 2012. He earned his Ph.D. in Phylogenetics and Systematics from Brigham Young University in 2007, after graduating with a B.S. from Cornell University in 2002. He completed his postdoctoral research at the New York State Museum in Albany, New York.

Patty Lohiser serves as the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Senior Director of Finance. Lohiser’s leadership on all facets of the Museum’s finances is critical to the success of its day-to-day operations and includes annual budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling and analytics, revenue opportunities, payroll, and the Museum’s endowment. Additionally, Lohiser’s expertise and financial foresight are fundamental to the Museum’s ongoing transformation project—a $150 million campaign to completely reimagine the Museum’s campus and exhibits in ways that highlight the interconnectedness of all life on Earth.

Prior to her promotion to Senior Director of Finance in 2023, Lohiser joined the Museum as Director of Finance in 2019, bringing more than 15 years of progressive experience managing financial operations. Her expertise includes accounting, budgeting, internal and external reporting, cash management investments, and auditing. Her experience and capabilities are an asset to her role and to the Museum, where Lohiser works to ensure resources align with the Museum’s core values, vision, and overarching mission.

Lohiser’s career has centered on work that creates a meaningful impact in her community. Before joining the Museum, Lohiser served in leadership roles at the Cleveland State University Foundation from 2013 to 2019, culminating in the position of Assistant Director of Budget and Finance. Prior to that, Lohiser served in roles at nonprofit organizations including Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center, one of the largest therapeutic equine centers in the country. She has also worked for Linking Employment, Abilities, and Potential (LEAP), an organization that works to advance participation and equality in society for people with disabilities in Northeast Ohio.

Lohiser holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University. She lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, with her family.