Laura Richardson Bright, 39

When Laura Richardson Bright first worked at Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, she didn’t have her own children. But when she returned to the museum three years ago in a development role after a stint at the American Cancer Society, she’d had her first child, and that’s given her new perspective on her workplace.

“There’s just this ambient energy at the museum when there are kids there, and I used to love being able to walk away from my computer or office and go out to the museum and see it happening in real life,” says Richardson Bright. “Now that I have my own kids, it’s a different kind of rewarding…Before, I was talking with members and families, and now I’m one of those member families.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Karysia Demarest, the late former CEO of CMON, and Jonathan Foerster, the museum’s current CEO and former COO, helped lure Richardson Bright back to the museum and have played a big role in her career and professional development. “They’re both such different leaders and it’s been really interesting to have seen them both in this role,” she says. “Karysia was such a strong female mentor and leader. She really was this superwoman and kind of instilled this confidence in women that was so important.

“Jon is such a visionary,” she continues. “I very much live in the day to day and make things happen. Jon is the type of person who’s very good at galvanizing, preaching the mission and getting out into the community and talking to people and getting them excited about things.”

As Richardson Bright builds her own team at the museum, she’s using a player-coach management style and drawing on insight gained from her mentors. “It’s easy to manage when things are going well and a lot trickier when things are not going well,” she says. “Not being afraid and shying away from having tricky conversations, but having those conversations in a respectful way, is something Karysia taught me.”

It's an exciting time to be leading fundraising, marketing and membership efforts at CMON. “The museum is kind of out of its toddler phase, having been open for 12 years or so,” she says. “The first 10 years of any business is really figuring things out, and I feel like we’re in such a good groove with so many exciting exhibits opening this fall and next spring.”