CLEVELAND, OH—July 21, 2025—The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of two of its staff members, whose recent local honors highlight their leadership, dedication, and transformative impact on the Museum and the broader community.
Dr. Caitlin Colleary Named Smart Women Award Honoree
The Museum’s Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Dr. Caitlin Colleary, has been recognized as a Smart Business Magazine Smart Women Award honoree in the Progressive Woman Award category. This award recognizes women who leverage their unique strengths to drive change, build community, and forge new paths in their industries.
Since joining the Museum in 2020, Dr. Colleary has made significant contributions to advancing the Museum’s mission. In addition to overseeing the Museum’s paleontology collections, which contain thousands of fossils collected in Northeast Ohio, Dr. Colleary focuses her work on the preservation of these irreplaceable specimens. In 2023, she was instrumental in securing a $785,162 National Science Foundation grant to support the conservation of the Museum’s Cleveland Shale fossil collection. And during the Museum’s recent $150 million transformation, Dr. Colleary played a key role in developing engaging new exhibits that connect visitors to the prehistoric past.
Beyond her curatorial work, Dr. Colleary regularly shares her expertise through a variety of public programs and has forged international partnerships to advance scientific knowledge. Earlier this year, she co-led a workshop with colleagues at the National Museums of Kenya, becoming the third Museum scientist to serve as a NMK research associate. Dr. Colleary’s collaborative spirit, innovation, and dedication have made a lasting impact and continue to inspire future generations of women scientists.
Patty Lohiser Recognized as a 2025 Notable in Finance
Patty Lohiser, the Museum’s Senior Director of Finance, has been honored as a 2025 Notable in Finance by Crain’s Cleveland Business. This award recognizes leaders who bring fiduciary excellence to their organizations while extending their impact beyond the workplace to the local community.
With 18 years of industry experience, Lohiser oversees budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, payroll, revenue opportunities, and management of the Museum’s endowment. Her financial leadership was instrumental in the Museum’s recent $150 million transformation, completed in December 2024, which reimagined its campus and exhibits to highlight the interconnectedness of life on Earth. By guiding the project to completion on budget and optimizing funding sources, Lohiser helped position the Museum for sustained growth, educational initiatives, and national recognition.
Lohiser’s career reflects deep community commitment, including past leadership roles at the Cleveland State University Foundation, as well as at nonprofit organizations including Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center, one of the nation’s largest therapeutic equine centers. Currently, Lohiser serves as Treasurer of the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership Board of Trustees, an organization which leads conservation and restoration projects that champion environmental justice and foster a sustainable and resilient watershed. In her role at the Museum, Lohiser’s strategic vision ensures the institution’s financial stability, helping advance its mission to inspire discovery and protect the natural world for future generations.
“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Colleary and Patty Lohiser for receiving these well-deserved honors,” said Sonia Winner, President & CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. “Their expertise, dedication, and leadership are vital to the Museum's mission and serve as an inspiration not only to our organization, but to the broader Cleveland community.”
About the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History illuminates the world around us and inspires visitors to engage with the natural forces that shape their lives. Since its founding in 1920, the Museum has pioneered scientific research to advance knowledge across diverse fields of study and used its outstanding collections, which encompass millions of artifacts and specimens, to deepen the public’s understanding of the dynamic connections between humans and nature. Through its Natural Areas Program, the Museum stewards more than 12,500 acres of protected ecosystems across northern Ohio. A community gathering place, educational center, and research institution, the Museum is a vital resource that serves Cleveland and the nation. For more information, visit CMNH.org.
Media Contact
Samantha Guenther
External Communications Manager, Marketing & Communications
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Office: 216.231.4600 x3432
Mobile: 440.429.2902
sguenther@cmnh.org
