This milestone owes much to key people: Jennifer McGuiness Coolidge , The Bug Cu - rator, steered my relentless art-making into in - sects, a lane where she saw my dreams, inven - tions, and hunger to learn could reach a wider crowd. It worked! Zach Zacharias , Sr. Curator of History at MoAS and fossil hunter, unearthed my work like one of his finds and flung the door wide. Tabitha Schmidt , CEO of MoAS, bet on my vision and handed me the reins. Tamara Joy , Curator and Fabric Expert, shaped public perception and refined my vision. Jenelle Codianne , Director of Design, wield - ed tech wizardry to wrangle my stubborn, run - away muse. Stephanie Shaw , Registrar Ryan Lowry , Exhibitions Manager Caleb Handlin , Preparator Seth Mayo , Astronomer turned engineering ace, mapped software and space like a star chart for my bugs. Clair Mitchell , Marketing Director, wove com - munity ties with insight. Christian Traverson , Planetarium Manager and Assistant Curator of Science.
Katie Wedderstrand , Planetarium Educator. Jim Boring , my editor, murmured, ‘The world lags behind,’ softening my self-doubt and fram - ing a first edition’s flaws as its soul. J.J. Royer , Chief Advancement Officer, envi - sioned programs to elevate my work and en - gage the community—fellow artists, take note: step into her shoes and ask, “How can I serve the community to lift the museum and, in turn, our world?” Countless others made this possible: the self - less staff—from security to facilities, installa - tions to the front desk, store managers to the COO and CFO—and the docents, donors, and visitors who fuel this timeless institution. I ap - plaud you all. Above all, I owe this to Diane , my wife and executive producer; our kids, who’ve shaped us beyond imagining; my parents— Dorothy Shooster , 100 and a social media star, and Herman Shooster , who taught me humility, gave me freedom to dream, and built a finan - cial foundation through his own business vision; my friends, steadfast through thick and thin; and dreamers eager to take my work further—I’m yours, truly. To all of you, I dedicate every ounce of myself.
#foreverthankful
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