In Service to Science Campaign

In Service to Science: Advancing the Future of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is building on the success of its Transforming the World of Discovery campaign with In Service to Science, a comprehensive $50 million fundraising campaign to advance scientific research, science education, wildlife conservation, and community engagement throughout Northeast Ohio and beyond.

This next chapter strengthens the Museum’s commitment to scientific discovery, educational opportunities, and the protection of our natural world. Through investments in scientists, educators, research, collections, public programs, and natural areas, In Service to Science will help ensure that the Cleveland Museum of Natural History continues to inspire curiosity, expand scientific knowledge, and connect people with the natural world for generations to come.

More than a fundraising campaign, In Service to Science is an investment in the future of science and nature. By supporting the people, programs, and resources that power the Museum’s mission, this $50 million initiative will expand opportunities for discovery, enrich learning experiences, advance conservation efforts, and strengthen the Museum’s role as a leading center for natural history, scientific research, and science education.

Thank You for Supporting In Service to Science

Thank you to our generous donors, members, partners, and friends for supporting In Service to Science, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s comprehensive $50 million fundraising campaign. Your generosity is helping advance scientific research, expand science education, strengthen conservation efforts, and support the people, programs, collections, and natural areas that bring the Museum’s mission to life.

Your investment is shaping the future of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History—fueling scientific discovery, inspiring curiosity, and connecting future generations with science and the natural world. Together, we are building a lasting legacy of discovery, education, and conservation for our community and beyond.

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Our Community Impact: In Their Own Words

Funding the future of science, conservation, and discovery

In Service to Science is the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s comprehensive $50 million fundraising campaign to advance scientific research, expand science education, strengthen conservation, and enhance the Museum’s resources for discovery. The campaign invests in innovative public programs, educational experiences, groundbreaking scientific research, endowed positions, and the Museum’s collections, facilities, technology, and natural areas.

These strategic investments will strengthen the Museum’s scientific leadership and educational impact, bringing its research, programs, and institutional resources to the same level of excellence as its award-winning physical transformation. By supporting scientists, educators, collections, and community programs, In Service to Science will help the Cleveland Museum of Natural History inspire curiosity, expand scientific knowledge, connect people with the natural world, and protect our planet for future generations.

Explore the spotlights below to discover how your support advances the Museum’s mission and transforms philanthropy into meaningful impact in science, education, and conservation—today and for generations to come.

Program Spotlight: The Linda and Les Vinney Know Your World Lecture Series

Linda and Les Vinney are longtime Museum members and dedicated attendees of the Museum's lectures over the years. As construction on the new building progressed, they were excited to learn about the direction of the Museum's transformation and saw an opportunity to elevate this major project by attracting well-known speakers. Thanks to their transformational gift, the Linda and Les Vinney Know Your World Lecture Series has become one of the Museum's most impactful public programs—bringing renowned experts and personalities, including popular science personality and activist Bill Nye, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Dr. Jennifer Doudna, and public radio's favorite science communicator Ira Flatow, to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for compelling conversations. This premier series has attracted new audiences to the Museum at an affordable ticket price, offered entertaining yet important insights into critical global and everyday health topics that audiences care about and can relate to, and established immersive scientific conversations directly linked to the Museum's transformed galleries and exhibits.

Scientific Investment Spotlight: The Joan and Dan Holmes Family Endowed Chair of Vertebrate Paleontology

In 2025, the Museum held a chairing ceremony recognizing Curator Dr. Caitlin Colleary as the inaugural Joan and Dan Holmes Family Endowed Chair of Vertebrate Paleontology. Joan Holmes and her late husband Dan have been longtime supporters of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Their giving was instrumental in the early fundraising efforts for the Transforming the World of Discovery campaign, and Joan has remained a steadfast annual supporter of the Museum's education programs. When the Museum’s team provided the Holmes family with several options about endowing key curatorial roles, they were fascinated by the work and vision of Dr. Caitlin Colleary. An accomplished paleontologist, Dr. Colleary’s work addresses one of the most profound questions in her field: What is a fossil? Her research explores how molecules can be preserved in fossilized bones, allowing us to look far deeper into the history of life than ever before. At the Museum, Dr. Colleary not only leads groundbreaking research, but also stewards our vertebrate paleontology collection—including some of our iconic specimens, Haplocanthosaurus delfsi (“Happy”) and Nanotyrannus. As it happens, Happy was discovered over 70 years ago near the location where the Holmes family company’s headquarters stands today.

While meeting the Holmes family, Dr. Colleary shared her vision for traveling across the American West to localities where these specimens were found decades ago, to better understand the ancient environments where these dinosaurs lived. The Holmes family was thrilled to learn about her vision and inspired by the interconnected history of our Museum and their family business; they proudly established an endowment and chair supporting vertebrate paleontology.

Conservation Spotlight: Mentor Marsh Master Plan

One of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s greatest assets is our land protected and conserved through our Natural Areas Program. Mentor Marsh is a public 900+ acre preserve that has been completely restored from invasive species by our ecologists, land stewards, and volunteers over the past two decades. It is now a thriving ecosystem popular with hikers, birders, and nature enthusiasts. To provide a more cohesive visitor experience at Mentor Marsh, while continuing to protect this fragile habitat, the Museum has embarked on a Master Planning process that focuses on connected trail systems, improved infrastructure, and enhanced educational exhibits. Thanks to generous investments from Lake County, the City of Mentor, the Sauerland Foundation, and CMNH Trustee Peter Hellman, the Mentor Marsh Master Plan for improving this essential asset will be completed in 2026.

Advancing scientific discovery

See how Museums scientists are contributing to scientific knowledge in Cleveland and across the globe.

From Fossil Fragments to Future Discoveries: Building a New Molecular Paleontology Collection at CMNH

Learn how Dr. Caitlin Colleary's fieldwork is helping to launch a new Molecular Paleontology Research Collection—a resource that could change what we know about the distant past.

Letters, Learning, and Local Discoveries: How Students From Cleveland and Kenya Unearthed Connections

Discover how the work of Dr. Emma Finestone, Museum Curator and the Robert J. and Linnet E. Fritz Endowed Chair of Human Origins, yielded new opportunities to connect students across the globe—and to inspire the next generation of archaeologists.

How Years of Archaeological Fieldwork in Kenya Helped Unlock an Ancient Food Mystery

What did eastern Africa’s earliest herders really eat? New research involving Museum curator Dr. Elizabeth (Ebeth) Sawchuk reveals a more complex story of survival and adaptation.

Join us In Service to Science

Connect with us to learn how your philanthropic support can advance the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s mission, expand access to science and nature, and deepen our impact across Northeast Ohio and beyond. Together, we can build a future where discovery inspires curiosity, science informs solutions, and more people connect with the natural world.

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Melissa Santee

Chief Philanthropy Officer

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Phone: 216-231-4600 x3430

Email: msantee@cmnh.org

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 is a Board Member of Family Planning Services of Lorain County and serves as a mentor for the Communicating the Arts 30 Under 30 Mentorship Program.

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.

Diane Strachan, CFRE

Individual Philanthropy and Planned Giving Director

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Phone: 216-231-2060

Email: dstrachan@cmnh.org

Diane Strachan, a native Clevelander, has been working in the non-profit sector for nearly thirty years. Diane has secured over $103 million during her philanthropic career in social service, higher education, healthcare, and museum service. Diane currently works at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History as the Director of Individual Philanthropy and Planned Giving.

Diane is a national speaker on such topics as gift planning, principal giving, and charitable gifting with works of art and has served as a faculty speaker for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Fundamentals of Fundraising Course. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Cleveland State University. Diane completed the Certified Fund Raising Executive credential in 2003 and in 2015 was named the Outstanding Fundraising Professional for northern Ohio by the Association of Fundraising Professionals ~ Greater Cleveland Chapter, and in 2020 was awarded the James P. Conway Mentor of the Year Award by the Northern Ohio Charitable Gift Planners Association.

Grace Andrews, CAP®

Senior Philanthropy Officer

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Phone: 216-231-2127

Email: gandrews@cmnh.org

As Senior Philanthropy Officer at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Grace helps donors turn their generosity into lasting impact. With over 13 years of fundraising experience at three national and Cleveland-based nonprofits, she has worked in nearly every corner of fundraising, from major gift fundraising in capital campaigns to grant writing, alumni giving, and planning donor events. Grace has helped raise more than $20M for the causes donors care about most, and has built a reputation for cultivating authentic, lasting donor relationships. Optimistic and energetic, Grace lives by a simple motto: exceed expectations, delight others.

What Grace loves most about her career is sitting down with donors and families to understand what matters to them, then helping to shape a giving plan that reflects their values and vision while meeting real needs at the Museum. To deepen that work, she earned the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services in 2026, bringing specialized knowledge of philanthropic planning and tax-savvy strategies to every conversation.

Whether you’re considering a first major gift, planning your family’s legacy, or simply curious about how your giving could do more, Grace would love to hear from you.