Catherine Wilson Horne

Catherine Wilson Horne has been named the new president and chief executive officer at Discovery Place Inc.. Horne, formerly the CEO at EdVenture in Columbia, SC, replaces John L. Mackay Jr., who will retire Dec. 31 after 13 years.

Horne’s selection followed a national search, the museum said in a press release Tuesday. She starts her new job at the end of January.

While at EdVenture, Horne led strategy, planning, fundraising, community outreach and program development, and helped the museum win national awards and grow to 230,000 annual visitors.  Mark McGoldrick, co-chair of the search committee, said Horne brings the skills needed to lead Discovery Place.

“Catherine brings a tremendous depth of understanding about both science centers and children’s museums,” McGoldrick said.  “Out of an incredibly talented pool of candidates, we are delighted to have found someone with Catherine’s mix of leadership, imagination and knowledge plus the proven ability to engage and fundraise.”

Horne said she is honored to join Discovery Place. “I look forward to expanding the strong foundation built by John Mackay and to creating new opportunities for Discovery Place to engage with and provide vital educational experiences to our communities,” she said. “The Discovery Place museums can bring families, schools and communities closer to the magic of hands-on learning and the wonders of science.”

Discovery Place now includes not only the downtown Charlotte science center,  but also the Charlotte Nature Museum,  and Discovery Place KIDS museums in Huntersville and Rockingham.

“Catherine joins Discovery Place at a unique point in our history,” Discovery Place board chair Chris Perri said in the press release. “With the recent opening of Discovery Place KIDS-Rockingham and the planned launch of the new Discovery Place Education Studio for teacher professional development, we are poised to expand the impact of our mission significantly beyond the Charlotte region.”

Horne will be formally introduced at Discovery Place’s Unite to Ignite Gala on Feb. 1, 2014.  For ticket information, please contact Kelsey Bowman at kelseyb@discoveryplace.org or 704-372-6261 x359.