Stamford has been blessed to have the Stamford Museum & Nature Center as part of its community for 88 years, and the SM&NC has been blessed to have Melissa Mulrooney at its helm for the past eighteen.
As Executive Director and CEO, Melissa has overseen tremendous growth in all facets of the business, despite the economic recession of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. She has built a highly regarded organization with a creative vision and innovative Master Plan that is poised to lead SM&NC into the future.
Melissa has been a beacon of grace and integrity since joining the Stamford community in 2005.
She attributes much of that to her heroes; her mother Vidge, whom she calls her idol, her
advocate and her most challenging and generous teacher, and her father Hitch, whom she refers
to as the original “officer and a gentleman”, a war hero, a POW in the Korean War,
and a professor at the Air Force Academy during Melissa’s childhood.
“Growing up in the fifties and sixties was a very heady and interesting time for culture and civil
rights consciousness,” said Melissa. “John F. Kennedy was my first President. He and Jackie
were so gorgeous and youthful, and this is where I began to understand leadership, celebrity,
civility, taste, and grace.” Her formative years were also molded by the civil rights movement,
women’s rights, social change, war, and turmoil. Culturally, music and theatre were at the center of
Melissa’s life, as both her parents were actors and singers. The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Joni
Mitchell, Broadway shows, opera - all helped shape the force of nature that was the soul of Melissa.
Through all this, Melissa developed a life philosophy that she still lives by: “Be kind. Saying
‘thank you’ costs nothing. Surround yourself with those that share your values and fill you with gut-busting laughter.”
After graduating from the University of Delaware with degrees in Theater Performance and
English Literature, her first big job was at the Delaware Art Museum, where she spent ten years
in marketing and communications, and getting to know a State Senator, who would later
become the President of the United States, Joe Biden.
In 1994, Melissa was handpicked to be the Executive Director of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, where she oversaw a $10 million renovation and personally inducted several of her heroes, including Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Jimmy Connors, Rosie Casales and John McEnroe. She also created the US Open Gallery at the USTA National Tennis Center.
Life has also thrown Melissa some curve balls, with the tragic loss of her mother when
Melissa was just 35 years old, and the deaths of her two beloved brothers, Skip and Sean. But she
dug deep and found lessons she learned from her father: “Pause. Breath. Allow yourself the
time and space to think, remember, and feel deeply. Feeling deeply heals.”
Today, Melissa and her diverse team have continued excellence in programming while expanding the state-of-the-art facilities to include the Knobloch Family Farmhouse (opened 2018) and the Planetarium & Astronomy Center currently under construction.
Melissa's warmth and caring is evident. She exudes a passion for life. When asked, what would be the title of your movie, “Who Knew?! A life of Change and Wonder.”
Pull Quote:
“Do your job with integrity. Find work that is challenging, satisfying and demands creativity.”
