Chevy Humphrey is the first Black American to head a science center in the United States. In January 2021, Humphrey became the first woman and Black American to lead the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI). Humphrey leads with sound management, entrepreneurship, and deploys resources to gain market share and respect, donor confidence, and public support.
Prior to joining MSI, Humphrey had been president and CEO of Arizona Science Center since 2005. While there, Humphrey created a strong, well-run non-profit organization that has adopted best practices from business. She helped accelerate strategic growth of the Science Center—now a 200,000-square-foot facility—both financially and through high-impact science programming. During her tenure, Humphrey grew assets from $3M to more than $42M; increased revenue growth in annual operations by 216 percent; and acquired two non-profits to maximize programming for the community. At the same time, Humphrey formed a conscious organizational culture through a transparent, collaborative, and highly communicative team that values accountability, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit, while working in partnership with the Board of Trustees and the community.
Humphrey has secured numerous national competitive and prestigious grants for Arizona Science Center from organizations such as the National Institutes for Health and the National Science Foundation. She served as the Chair of the Selection and Annual Review Committee (2005-2011) for what was at the time the National Science Foundation’s largest informal science initiative, Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE-Net).
Humphrey has also held leadership positions at The Phoenix Symphony, Houston Symphony, University of Houston, and The University of Texas at Austin.
She is a global leader in the field of informal science education. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of the American Alliance of Museums, the world’s largest museum association. She is a former Chair of the Board of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), which serves more than 500 Science Centers in more than 50 countries. Humphrey is the first Black American to hold that post. She was also the first person to receive ASTC’s Award for Service.
Humphrey serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute and College Success Arizona. She also serves as Director and Chair of the Compensation Committee for Grand Canyon Education, Inc., a publicly traded company (LOPE). The Phoenix Business Journal named Humphrey its Mentor of the Year in 2017, the first time the award was given, as well as one of its Most Admired CEOs. She was named a Visionary Leader by the Women’s National Basketball Association by BBVA Compass and is an ATHENA award recipient from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, she was selected in the 2001 inaugural class of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Fellows, the only non-CEO selected at that time.
Humphrey earned an MBA from Northeastern University, with specializations in Marketing and Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She received an honorary Doctor of Science and Technology degree from the University of Advancing Technology. She has attended advanced management courses at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Yale University School of Management. She is pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration at Grand Canyon University.
