Museum Leadership

George Sparks has been the President/CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science since November 2004. He spent 24 years in the electronics measurement business at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies. His career included marketing, sales, and general management of global businesses in software, systems, and services.

Prior to joining Hewlett-Packard, George spent 9 years in the Air Force as a pilot and as an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics at the USAF Academy (1976-1978). He is a Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Academy with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and holds an MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.

George's passion is public policy, particularly around science and education. He is a member of the Colorado Forum, Colorado Concern, and is on the Boards of Colorado Education Initiative, Colorado Business Round Table, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, Denver Council of Foreign Relations, and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

George is the founder of the Institute for Science & Policy, a program of the Museum.

He loves his wife and all his children.

Ed Scholz is executive vice president of operations & finance and is responsible for all traditional administrative functions as well as guest, volunteer, and retail food operations. He previously served for over a decade in various financial roles for the City and County of Denver, including as the budget director, deputy CFO, and CFO. As budget director, he oversaw a $2 billion citywide budget focused on long-term fiscal and capital improvement planning and performance management. 
 
Scholz’s studies of music and finance led him to master’s in nonprofit management from Binghamton University in New York and a career that began in development for public broadcasting. He has taught local and national courses on performance management and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. He is currently on the board of the Public Education & Business Coalition and is a member of the Audit Committee for the City and County of Denver. Scholz has also served on the board of the Center on Colfax and several task forces in the metro-area, including the City of Denver Structural Financial Task Force, the Arvada Center Governance Task Force, and the National Western Center Task Force.

Nancy Walsh is the Executive Vice President of Marketing, Experiences and Partnerships at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. She works with a talented team and our community to create the vision, creative direction and operation of a diverse array of innovative exhibitions and programs for all ages (onsite, offsite, and virtual). Nancy cultivates strategic local and national partnerships that align with the Museum's goals. She also leads marketing and communications initiatives to elevate the Museum's regional awareness and solidify its reputation as a trusted community partner for knowledge and collaboration. 

Nancy is the Vice President champion for the strategic initiative to reimagine and expand the Gems and Minerals exhibition at the Museum. She was the founding champion for the Museum’s “No Walls” initiative, which has successfully increased access and engagement with science and nature for a broader and more diverse audience, meeting them on their terms and in their communities. She was a driving force behind the successful opening and reprogramming of the Museum’s most recent major expansion, the Morgridge Family Exploration Center. Prior to the Museum, Nancy worked at the Virginia Aquarium, the Bell Museum of Natural History and The Field Museum. 

Nancy is passionate about the vibrancy of local communities and inclusive access to science, technology, engineering, arts and math. She currently serves on the board of the Denver Public Schools Foundation and is Board Chair at the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts. She served on the boards of the Art Students League of Denver and CherryArts, was a mayoral appointee on the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs and is a current member of the International Women’s Forum of Denver. Nancy is an alumnus of Leadership Denver, earned a Master’s Degree in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago, and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Earlham College. 

John R. Demboski is senior vice president of science & chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. John is an accomplished zoologist and Museum leader who brings more 30 years of museum experience to the position. He is responsible for providing vision and leadership to ensure quality scientific research, appropriate collections stewardship, engaging educational programming and exhibition content, as well as managing a productive team of scientists and collections staff. He will play a critical role in shaping the Museum's strategic vision for science. During his tenure at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, he has expanded accessibility to collections and increased their overall use. He has served in many different roles that have included multiple initiatives and other large pan-Museum projects related to infrastructure, education, exhibits, and scientific research and collections. In addition, he has served in external leadership roles and on boards in the broader museum collections community.

Educated at Purdue University, his passion for museums was sparked during a volunteer opportunity at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, which resulted in a long-term fieldwork experience in the Philippines. This led him to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for his PhD and where he had the opportunity to gain extensive experience in the university’s research collections. After postdoctoral positions at the University of Idaho and Louisiana State University, John joined California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 2002, as an assistant professor of biology. In 2006, he landed at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science where he served as curator of mammals and director of zoology & health sciences. 

John’s scientific research has focused on western North American mammals, where he studies the processes that contribute to the diversity of species. His work combines fieldwork and molecular methodology to address fundamental questions about the evolution and distribution of species. He has conducted fieldwork across the western United States, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Mongolia, Paraguay, Philippines, and Russia. 

John has lived all over the United States and is now proud to have established long-term roots in Colorado after calling so many places home. Live music, fly fishing, wildlife, road trips, the mountains, and time with family are his passions.

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Amanda Bennett is the Vice President of Marketing & Communications, with myriad leadership roles in the Museum since 2004. She has led strategic marketing and communications efforts to enhance regional awareness and recognition of the Museum, contributing to award-winning campaigns for exhibitions, films and brand development.

In her role, Amanda strengthens public support for the Museum, champions collaborative initiatives and advocates for innovative visitor experiences. She brings expertise from her previous work in the non-profit and corporate sectors, including her time as an account supervisor at a branding agency and leading marketing efforts at a sports management firm.

Amanda holds a B.S. in Marketing Communications from Colorado State University and has international marketing experience from her studies in Florence, Italy. She actively participates in advisory committees within the documentary industry and the local experience economy.

A Colorado Springs native, Amanda enjoys traveling and spending time with her daughter, dog and family.

Ash Bassim is vice president of finance and revenue.  Her primary areas of responsibility include providing leadership and strategy to the finance, retail, and food services teams to ensure the Museum’s impeccable financial integrity while targeting revenue growth to support operations and strategic plans. Prior to joining DMNS in 2012, Bassim held financial leadership roles of increasing responsibility in a wide variety of industries including banking, logistics, and entertainment.

In her time at the Museum, Bassim has had the pleasure of leading all of the important financial areas like reporting, budgeting, audit and tax compliance, and cash flow operations – but more than anything she has enjoyed helping her colleagues recognize the finance team as a partner to help them achieve and celebrate all of our shared aspirations.

Bassim is passionate about leveraging her financial skill set to support non-profits that improve and uplift the community.  She currently serves as chair on the Arapahoe County Cultural Council, board member for the Two Ponds Preservation Foundation and board treasurer for the WINGS Foundation.

Bassim is proud to be a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants.  She holds a B.S. in Accounting from Regis University and earned an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Colorado.  She grew up visiting DMNS on field trips as a little girl and currently lives in Aurora. She enjoys spending as much time as possible with her close group of friends and trying her best to train her two adorable and outrageously naughty terrier pups.

Nicole Lucero-Holub is vice president of human resources and is responsible for leading the HR functions related to strategic planning, talent acquisition, total rewards and HR service delivery.  She has over 25 years of experience in public, private and non-profit sectors.  Prior to joining the Museum, Lucero-Holub has served as HR Manager for the Office of Human Resources at the City and County of Denver.  She spent nearly 16 years in a variety of roles including leadership positions in talent acquisition, workforce planning, and employee engagement and HR data analytics.

Lucero-Holub joined the Museum in 2014 and has driven HR best practices to enhance our workplace culture and to advance the Museum’s diversity, equity, access and inclusion work within our policies and practices.  She is a co-lead sponsor for the Museum’s Employee Engagement Committee and Conversations about Community Committee, and a champion for the museum's Equity initiative team.  She also serves as a staff member for the Museum’s Compensation Committee to support the Board of Trustees.

Lucero-Holub holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Leeds School of Business and a member of the Forever Buffs Latinx Alumni Association. She is a member of SHRM and World at Work.  She is also an active member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce HR Committee, Colorado Inclusive Economy as an HR Champion and a member Impact Leadership Solution - HR Executive Roundtable. She served as a past member of the Bonfils Stanton - Arts & Culture Equity Leadership Council.

Lucero-Holub is a Denver native.  She enjoys music, travel, theatre and spending time with her husband and three sons, along with her extended family and friends.

Tina Martinez is the vice president of learning and community experiences. She has dedicated her career to collaborative efforts that foster a future in which all children, families and communities thrive. In her role, she works with diverse stakeholders to create meaningful experiences connecting people with the wonders of nature and science—at the Museum, virtually, and across Colorado. She is responsible for the Museum's school and teacher programs, experience development, community engagement, and adult and family experiences.

Since joining the Museum in 2016, Tina has led several strategic initiatives designed to reach people in the places where they live, learn, and play, including new offsite school programming, the Museum on Wheels: Curiosity Cruiser, the Mars Outpost play area at Colorado Mills, and DMNS on Demand virtual programming.

Tina is the Chairperson of the Board for Scholars Unlimited and Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Clayton Early Learning. She has also served on the Denver Afterschool Alliance and Smart Girl, Inc. boards and on the National Diversity Committee for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Tina graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a B.A. in Communications.

Tina enjoys learning, reading, art, traveling, soccer, and spending time with her family.

Christina Fritts is the vice president of development, membership and insights at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. She oversees the Museum’s fundraising efforts, membership campaigns, sponsorship initiatives, member and donor events, community research, and audience analytics, all to further the Museum’s mission to “Be a catalyst! Ignite our community’s passion for nature and science". Christina joined the Museum in 2022 as Director of Membership & Insights, where she led the team in rebuilding our membership after the pandemic to 50,000 member households.

Prior to joining the Museum, Christina was the first Director of Customer Insights at Evolve Vacation Rental in Denver, Colorado, where she established its first insights team overseeing its voice of the customer program and related projects. She has 20 years of experience across finance, consulting, marketing and sales in various industries and around the globe. She is passionate about leading engaged, high-performing teams with a focus on developing future leaders.

Christina enjoyed visits to the Museum growing up and now has the pleasure of continuing to enjoy the Museum’s permanent and traveling exhibits, films, and programming with her husband and son.

Christina graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder with a focus on Economics and Political Science. She received her M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jeff Joplin is vice president of operations.  His primary areas of responsibility include providing leadership and strategy to the building operations, building services, custodial services, guest services, project management, security, and volunteer engagement teams. Their goals are to ensure the Museum’s operational plans provide superior guest experiences in the built environment while achieving safety, security, and environmental conditions to support all guests, volunteers, staff, and collections.  Jeff has been with DMNS for 25 years, through two separate terms, while working in private industry in Operations for the interim.  During his career, he has executed over $150M in various construction projects.  At DMNS, he worked on the Morgridge Family Exploration Center, the Avenir Collections Center as well as three citywide bond initiatives and numerous renovations throughout the Museum.

In his time at the Museum, Jeff has worked on improving the operational efficiency of the equipment serving a diverse age of buildings.  Through energy-improvement measures such as an innovative ground source heat pump system, solar and efficiency upgrades along with a variety of sustainability measures, he is focused on reducing the Museum’s environmental impact while achieving our vision of protecting our natural world.

He has participated in programs with the City and County of Denver, other cultural organizations, and Denver Parks and Recreation to support City Park and surrounding communities’ growth and development.

Jeff and his wife Shelley have two daughters, Ashley and Emily.

Eric Boen is the Vice President of Technology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where he leverages over two decades of technological expertise to guide the Museum's digital strategy and operations with an emphasis on IT security and enhancing guest interactions. Guiding a vibrant technology team, he is responsible for ensuring that advanced IT security protocols are consistently maintained, fostering an environment where innovation thrives.

Before joining the Museum, Eric refined his technical skills as a Software Engineer at Sapient Consulting, delivering complex web solutions for prominent global companies. His tenure at the Museum has been marked by pivotal achievements, including securing the "Leveraging Data Insights" grant and leading the development of the interactive exhibit, Expedition Health, as well as PassEdge, a cutting-edge app designed to deepen audience engagement and open new revenue streams.

An advocate of Agile principles, Eric’s Certified ScrumMaster credentials underscore his commitment to iterative progress and collaborative team dynamics. He earned a B.S. in Microbiology from North Dakota State University and furthered his technical education in Computer Science at Regis University.

Eric’s passion for technology extends beyond the Museum’s walls through his dedication to STEM initiatives. As a coach for a high school BEST Robotics team, he contributes to shaping future innovators.

Eric and his wife Beth have one son, Ethan.

Liz Davis is Vice President of Exhibitions, Experiences and Innovation at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and is responsible to staff and guests alike, to ensure an engaging, inviting, and memorable time at and with the Museum. Liz is one of the longest tenured staff - 30 years and counting – and she is honored to have held positions in a number of guest-facing departments. A future-focused, adaptive leader, she has shown creative vision, operational oversight, and personnel and budgetary management in each role she has served. Despite Museum studies not being the aim of her degree or even one of the initial ideas for her career, the Museum has been dynamic ground for learning, fun, impact and inspiration. Liz has been a champion for change and evolution for the Museum to stay relevant, transforming programs from traditional formats to audience-focused, and audience-driven experiences.

A curious human, listener, and advocate, Liz embraces the challenges and opportunities that the world around us presents and she values the relationships, and the purpose-driven work the Museum fosters.

Liz advocates for diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (DEAI) and champions initiatives focused on addressing cultural representation, access and accessibility and inclusion. Promoting community collaboration and cultural competency, she plays a role in re-shaping programs and exhibitions. Her commitment to community engagement extends beyond the Museum with achievements in community organizing, advocacy and coalition building.

Liz loves learning, cooking, travel, and spending time with family and friends.