Arizona Science Center taps longtime exec to lead 120-employee museum
The Arizona Science Center has announced Tammy Stewart as the organization’s new president and CEO.
Stewart had been serving as interim president and CEO for the past six months after the departure of Guy Labine, the previous CEO who took a new job in 2025 after being with the museum since March 2022. Labine is now CEO of TELUS Spark Science Centre, a museum in Calgary, Canada.
Appointed to the permanent CEO job by the museum’s Board of Trustees, Stewart brings 25 years of experience in arts and cultural organizations to her new role overseeing the science center’s $14 million operation that has more than 120 employees.
“It is an honor to be selected to be the next Hazel A. Hare President & CEO, and to lead this organization to its next stage is just an amazing opportunity for me and the team,” she told the Business Journal.
The CEO is not new to the Arizona Science Center. She joined the nonprofit organization in 2016 and has held multiple leadership positions at the museum since then, including chief of staff, chief development officer, vice president of institutional philanthropy and director of development. She has also helped raised $150 million to “support capital initiatives and annual operations.”
The Arizona Science Center is housed in a 164,000-square-foot building in downtown Phoenix at 600 E. Washington Street. It has four levels of hands-on activities and exhibits; a five-story tall screen theater and a 60-foot LED Dome called the Dorrance DOME, which opened in October. These experiences are for visitors of all ages who are curious about science, technology, engineering and math, Stewart said.
“We fully believe science is for everyone. It’s not just for school-age kids,” she said.
The museum offers an after-hours event for adults 21 plus called Science with a TWIST! Visitors can have a cocktail, watch a live demonstration and explore the science center. Adults can also attend different lectures hosted at the museum with varying subjects.
Stewart, who said she couldn’t share exact details yet, said she’s working with her teams on bringing new experiences and exhibits to the center. A successful exhibit the museum has hosted in the past was the Pompeii exhibit, which featured artifacts brought over from Italy. The exhibit was first shown at the museum in 2017-2018, and recently wrapped up its second stint on April 12.
“Most people don’t have the opportunity to visit Pompeii themselves, but here’s an opportunity where we brought Pompeii to our community,” Stewart said. “And we’re always looking for exhibitions that provide similar type of experiences to our community, giving them insight into a particular area of science or technology or engineering.”
Exhibits for top industries in Arizona
An artificial intelligence exhibit is another idea the museum has been discussing. Stewart said she wants the museum to be a place where guests can learn about the top industries in Arizona, which include AI and the semiconductor sector.
“We’ve been having a lot of conversations with our community partners, our guests, our members, and really understanding what we want Arizona science center to look like in the future. We’ve got some exciting plans coming,” she said.
Stewart also shared something that hasn’t been announced yet: The museum will be showing Star Wars episodes four through six on the Dorrance DOME May 1, 3 and 4.
Prior to joining the science museum, she worked at the Phoenix Art Museum for 12 years, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra.
Stewart is also a member of the Charter 100 Arizona chapter, a professional association for women leaders, and she’s on the board of the Downtown Phoenix Enhanced Municipal Services District. Additionally, she has a seat on the Giant Screen Cinema Association Leadership Committee.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.