Children's Museum of Manhattan

Responsible for the day-to-day operations of Building Facilities, Custodial, Human Resources, Security, Technology, and the Visitor Experience. 

Founded in 1973 as a neighborhood organization, CMOM has grown over the years into a beloved destination and resource for children, families, and educators from across the five boroughs and from around the world. 

The museum welcomes nearly 250,000 visitors each year to its Upper West Side location and engages hundreds of thousands more through its outreach programs in partnership with schools, libraries, shelters, and Head Start centers throughout New York City; its touring exhibitions; and its online tools and curricula.

Through our programs on-site, online, and around the five boroughs, CMOM nurtures the next generation of creative global citizens as they learn through exploration and play. CMOM encourages empathy across difference by elevating and providing insight into diverse perspectives and inviting visitors of all backgrounds to join our intentionally welcoming community and create and learn alongside each other. 

The museum’s program reflects the rich cultural diversity, energy, and resilience of New York City itself and has a special focus on ensuring that its program is available to those families who might not otherwise have access.

The position reports to the Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer

Director of Operations

In this role at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, I focused on enhancing guest experiences while navigating operational changes. I assessed existing practices to identify immediate improvements and collaborated closely with the COO/CFO to implement strategic solutions. My efforts contributed to a more efficient front of house operation, improved staff morale, and iincreased visitor satisfaction.

Guest Experience Advisor

aspiring better human™️

With a passion for transforming workplace culture, I founded aspiring better human™️ to empower leaders and teams. My extensive experience in the arts & culture realm has equipped me to foster environments where employees feel valued and supported, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and team performance.

Today I only work with individuals and organization who truly embrace and understand a people-first culture

Founder

Podcast Host and Producer

The Frick Collection

My role was to advise the organization on all visitor experience logistics for the reopening on April 17, 2025

Visitor Experience Consultant

community of SEVEN

Founding Core Member
community of SEVEN Core is an invite-only membership for leaders looking to change the world. community of SEVEN is an exclusive, invite-only membership for purpose-driven leaders. Our members are leaders in their industry, activists looking to change the world, founders, in the C-suite, or rapidly approaching it. Their decision to align purpose and growth will shape the future of their organizations, their industries, and society. Through the community of SEVEN program, members thrive as individuals and grow as leaders.

Founding Core Member

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Direct all aspects of the visitor experience which includes front of house logistics and hospitality as well as back of house operations for ticketing, audio guide rentals, customer service, onsite membership sales & service, information and wayfinding all in strategic partnership with Buildings, Design, Digital, Education, Exhibitions, Membership, Security, and the Volunteer organization. Back of house responsibilities include group bookings, advance ticket sales, and box office for Met Live Arts. Key member on the operations/revenue team. Position reports directly to the CEO. 

Responsible for all hiring, training, and staff development in order to build strong public facing teams.  

Highlights of major accomplishments:

- Change Agent - brought my years of front of house experience to help transform the area from transactional to service-minded
- Admissions Policy Changes - part of the original implementation team to charge fixed admission price in 2018 and continue to make systemic improvements to simplify the ticketing process  
- Great Hall Refresh - an initiative to streamline operations and returned most of the space back to the public
- Departmental Restructure - introduced role clarity by clearly defining areas of responsibility and added structure to support the team
- Team Building - reduced the turnover and steadied the department while improving hiring practices and providing training
- Converted many traditional part-time roles into full-time positions to retain talent and paid for this by managing costs
- In partnership with IT, upgraded systems and implemented paperless ticketing
- Member of the NYC Museums Reopening Task Force as well as an internal group to help re-open NYC cultural institutions after COVID-19 shutdown.

Head of Visitor Experience

Led the team responsible for the front of house experience across all three Met locations welcoming over 7 million visitors each year. This includes Admissions, Audio Guides, Groups, Information, Membership, and Reception with a team of over 500 people; 150 staff members and 400 volunteers. In 2018 we revised our Admissions Policy and was part of the bridge implementation team prior to officially joining the department. Position reported to Head of Visitor Experience.

General Manager of Visitor Experience

Directed the Customer Experience, Inventory & Logistics, and staffing for all stores. Managed six direct reports who ultimately managed 250 people - both Museum staff and contractual. Partnered daily with all frontline departments on the overall visitor experience for the 7 million visitors annually to the Museum. Position reported to Vice President of Merchandising and Retail.

General Manager, Retail Operations

Appointed to fully manage all domestic retail stores in addition to the Main Building shops. Directed  all bottomline results, sales planning and analysis, recruiting, hiring and developing of staff as well as expense management for Main Building, Rockefeller Center, Cloisters, Macy’s, JFK Airport, LGA Airport, and Newark Airport. Directly managed 10 direct reports with a total of 250 staff members.

General Manager, Stores (Domestic)

Promoted to manage the entire sales team of over 150 staff members; both operations and sales. Product lines includes Books, Jewelry, Textiles, Accessories, Gifts, and Children's. Accountable for the full running of the museum shops including budgeting, hiring, recruiting, training, and bottom line P&L results.

Senior Manager, Museum Shops

Recognized for streamlining systems behind the scenes and developing a large receiving department team then promoted to manage overall store operations throughout the museum. Managed over 100 staff members responsible for replenishing over 10,000 SKUs.

Operations Manager, Museum Shops

Hired to review and update policies and procedures of the replenishment model and to directly manage staff of 30 stock associates responsible for receiving merchandise into the building to support multiple sales locations within the museum.

Manager, Stock Services (Logistics)

Lord & Taylor

Worked in Merchandise Information Organization and oversaw automated Quick Replenishment for Men's Shoes leased department as well as Cosmetics for over 40 stores.

Replenishment Manager

Charles Jourdan

Recruited to lead the team opening leased shoe department at Henri Bendel at a time when they were expanding and opening stores in malls across the USA. Eventually moved into central office where key responsibilities were budgeting and planning sales and stock for both Charles Jourdan stores and Henri Bendel leased departments.

Manager, Retail Operations

Macy's

Hired as Assistant Buyer in Moderate Women's Shoes and assisted with planning, buying, analyzing, and distributing shoes across the Northeast region. Traveled to tri-state stores regularly to ensure shop standards.

Assistant Buyer, Women’s Shoes

B Altman & Co.

Started in Retail Training Program as an Assistant Buyer and eventually promoted to Women's Shoes Floor Manager at flagship Fifth Avenue store and accountable for sales and service; managed 20 commission sales professionals.

Manager, Women's Shoes

NYC’s Arts & Culture Guest Experience Advisor • Top LinkedIn Voice • Leadership Coach • Host of Aspiring Better Human🎙️Podcast • Kindness Advocate

With more than 30 years in the arts and culture world, I’m deeply committed to creating environments where people come first, operations run smoothly, and visitors leave inspired. As Director of Operations at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, I have the privilege of overseeing Human Resources, Visitor Experience, Technology, and Facilities — making sure every team is empowered to deliver results that truly align with our mission. Every year, our work touches nearly 250,000 visitors, and I take pride in fostering collaboration and efficiency behind the scenes so those experiences are seamless and memorable.

Through aspiring better human™️, the initiative I founded, I work closely with leaders and organizations to cultivate workplace cultures rooted in empathy, trust, and empowerment. I also consult on visitor experience strategies and team-building programs, helping organizations bring people-centered approaches to life. Passionate about connecting with both audiences and teams, I strive to create meaningful experiences that put humans at the heart of every interaction — in museums, nonprofits, and beyond.


True kindness does not require reciprocation. Read that again.

Will Sullivan

aspiring-better-human

wednesday-with-will-live

Talks about #kindness, #leadership, #keepingitkind, #whatinspiresme, and #voiceforkindness

Helping Museums Build Thriving Teams & Unforgettable Visitor Experiences | People-First Operations & Culture Builder

Philip Haag

Be so positive that negative people won’t want to be around you. Optimism really keeps them away ✨

Colette Martin

Include yourself in that never ending To Do List each day.

Jaime Contreras

Sometimes the best response is no response …


Responding vs. Reacting 

Reacting is immediate. Emotional. Automatic.
It protects the moment.

Responding is intentional. Grounded. Chosen.
It protects the relationship.

When we react, we give our power to the situation.
When we respond, we reclaim it.

Nonprofit People-First Leader | Director of Operations, Children's Museum of Manhattan | Driving Team & Visitor Impact

Himanshu Chaudhary

Remember that you do not need to react to everything. Silence is a perfect response.

We never know what someone is going through. Be kind always. 


#AspiringBetterHuman #VoiceForKindness

Quadir Madyun

We either evolve or get left behind. Choose wisely.

One good year can change everything … thank you 2025 💙🙏🏻

personal reflection:

Just returned from an extended time away from my daily routine in order to take care of some serious family matters which was followed by a short vacation to recharge. 

This break from the day-to-day forced me to reflect on the last 18 months of my life as I reassess everything (something we should all do periodically). For me, the last year and a half has been extremely focused and filled with priceless lessons in leadership. I am a completely different person today and grateful for all the opportunities.

Taking time to step back and looking at the world from a different perspective is vital. My 5-year plan is definitely ahead of schedule 😊

Are you taking steps towards the future you want?

Stop 🛑 shrinking yourself to fit into spaces you no longer belong.

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