John Fraser, PhD, AIA
President and CEO

Dr. Fraser, is a conservation psychologist, architect, and educator. His research focuses on how worldviews impact learning attitudes, motivations, and the ability to develop new knowledge in free-choice settings. Dr. Fraser is President and CEO for the New Knowledge Organization. He holds adjunct faculty positions at Hunter College of City University New York and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He holds the California Academy of Sciences appointment as Associate Editor - Operations for Curator, the Museum Journal, and serves as a founding editorial board member for Museums & Social Issues. He is also a Fellow of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). He was a key member of the team that developed the WCS's global species strategy, and a co-author of the organization's animal welfare policies. He is currently serving on the NSF COSEE Ocean Inquiry Group.

Dr. Fraser was the lead author on a study of American attitudes toward supporting children's nature experiences for the Children & Nature Network. He has conducted pioneering research on how literature and poetry affect conservation thinking. He is the Education Consultant for the new National Museum of the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C. Dr. Fraser serves as the external researcher for a collaboration between a major American public broadcast network, the U.S. National Parks Service, and the University of California to study how films impact our relationship to nature. Dr. Fraser is the evaluator for the American Children's National Medical Center's projects to promote childhood wellness practices related to asthma, sickle cell disease, sleep disorders, and obesity. He recently completed a study of the outcomes resulting from citizen science projects coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He has conducted many research projects, including a national study of American perceptions of bison conservation, a three-year national study on the perceived value of zoos and aquariums to America's community of learners, and an evaluation of training programs for educators living in jaguar habitat Honduras and Guatemala. Dr. Fraser holds a Ph.D. from the Antioch University New England School of Environmental Studies.

Beverly K. Sheppard
Director, Learning City Initiatives

Beverly Sheppard has led numerous projects developing and exploring the learning intersections between museums, libraries, and other community-based institutions and the impact of such learning networks. She was formerly the President and CEO of the Institute for Learning Innovation, a center for learning research and evaluation in informal settings, such as museums, libraries, and environmental centers. Ms. Sheppard�s museum experience spans nearly thirty years and includes positions as Acting Director of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and as President and CEO of Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. She has long been engaged in leadership activities within the museum field, serving on both the Board of Directors of the American Association of Museums and the Council of the American Association for State and Local History. Beverly is a frequent speaker and writer in the museum field. Her most recent publications include An Alliance of Spirit, Museum and School Partnerships, with co-editor Kim Fortney and Thriving in a Knowledge Age: New Business Models for Museums and Other Cultural Institutions, with co-author John H. Falk.

In her current position with New Knowledge and as Principal of BK Sheppard Consulting, affiliated with New Knowledge, she works closely with museums in their development of whole institutional interpretive planning and in planning the alignment of educational goals with exhibit and program design. In this role, she is especially interested in planning for families in museums and supporting opportunities for intergenerational learning. Her museum leadership continues a strong focus on how museums best serve as centers for lifelong learning, strong community partners and essential forces in building and sustaining a civil society.