The Westchester Children’s Museum said Tuesday it appointed Suzanne LeBlanc as interim executive director while a national search is underway for a permanent executive. LeBlanc recently retired as executive director of the Long Island Children’s Museum after a 17-year tenure. Previous Executive Director Thomas Sullivan departed in December to lead a children’s museum on the West Coast. Katie Vernace, vice president of the board, had been serving as an interim executive director. In March outgoing Rye City School District Superintendent Dr. Eric Byrne joined the museum’s board of trustees.
“The board is absolutely thrilled to have someone of Suzanne’s caliber and background step into the role of interim executive director,” said Acting Director Katie Vernace. “At this time of enormous growth and potential for the museum, an interim leader gives the board the ability to focus on the essential job of selecting the right new director who is a visionary in early childhood and pre-teen museum interactive STEAM programming, a collaborative leader to the staff, board, and community, and a strong fundraiser and business executive. Entrusting the leadership to a seasoned professional like Suzanne while the executive search is underway is part of our commitment to supporting our exceptional staff while enriching our strategic planning with invaluable experience as we grow.”
LeBlanc has held several leadership positions in the museum field in Las Vegas, Brooklyn and Boston prior to becoming president of Long Island Children’s Museum (LICM) in 2005, where she served until June of 2023. She has served the wider field of museums, most recently as president of the Museum Association of New York (MANY), and on the NY State Regents Museum Advisory Council. In 2012, LeBlanc accepted the National Medal for Museum and Library Service at the White House on behalf of the Long Island Children’s Museum (LICM), in recognition of the institution’s service to the community. She has testified at a Congressional hearing on the importance of museums and libraries to healthy families and communities, been published numerous times in museum journals, been a reviewer for state and national granting agencies, and consults, teaches and presents at conferences. LeBlanc has served as an officer of the Association of Children’s Museums and the Nevada Museums Association.
In the last two years, the Westchester Children’s Museum has grown to more than thirty full and part time employees, over 100,000 annual visitors – up from 25,000 in 2022 – and over 2,000 members including 20% in the category of financial assistance members. In the last six months, the museum has opened a major new gallery – the Physics Lab at the Fierstein Family Gallery; conducted its first On the Boardwalk programming in partnership with the County of Westchester during opening weekend of Playland Amusement Park; entered an agreement with The Nicholas Center to open an exhibit of original art created by its participants who are adults with autism; updated and refreshed its Toddler Beach while also putting out an RFP to create a new early childhood exhibit and play space; and collaborated with the County of Westchester, BOL (Board of Legislators), CCCNY (Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York) and WLS (Westchester Library System) to launch the County-wide initiative Disconnect to Reconnect. The Museum is also building its relationship with area schools conducting programs both off site in their classrooms and on site in the museum. In March 2025 alone, the Museum welcomed over 900 students on field trips compared with 975 in all of 2024.
