“Meaningful change happens at the family level,” said Janine Boire, two months into her new job as executive director of Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC).

“As an adult, it can be easy to fall into that mentality that you always have to be right, but science is more about the questions than the answers,” she told the Leader. “Youth remind us that it’s ok to explore, to take risks and to always remain curious.”

Boire added that she sees curiosity as the core solution to the center’s mission to inspire conservation of the Salish Sea.

Over the last three months, Boire and her daughter, Callay, have led by example and begun learning the ins and outs of PTMSC side-by-side. Formerly living in Boise, Idaho, where Boire served as the executive director of Discovery Center of Idaho, the mother and daughter relocated to Port Townsend last summer.

Callay Boire, 12, volunteers as a docent at PTMSC’s marine and natural history exhibits, an opportunity she said has helped to connect her with the community and allows her to build on her school work with practical, hands-on experience.

“I learn so much from her,” Boire said of her daughter.

A community educator and coordinator for nearly 35 years, Boire said she has focused on familiarizing herself with the PTMSC history and mission and building rapport with staff and volunteers in order to amplify the organization’s strengths and expand programming.

“The center is built on a strong foundation and over the coming year we’ll be planning our long-term goals out to 2025,” she said. “I am here as an advocate, to promote and expand upon the work of our expert staff and bring back the resources that they need to take the [PTMSC] to that next level.”

EYE ON THE HORIZON

Boire succeeds Anne Murphy, who retired in July after serving at the center’s helm since 1989.

Boire said that what has impressed her most, since stepping into her newest role in August, are the PTMSC’s dedicated, multigenerational staff and volunteers. The sign of any great organization is the strength of their volunteer programs, and more than 160 people give their time and passion to this organization, Boire said.

“Our volunteers are educated, engaged and excited to get our visitors thinking about the marine environment and our connection to it through the Citizen Science movement.”

About the time Boire started her new position, Washington State Parks and Recreation and the Fort Worden Lifelong Learning Center Public Development Authority (FWPDA) entered into a co-management agreement. The partnership has unique and resonant implications for each of the 15 tenants at Fort Worden, including the center. Boire said she has taken the time to read about the FWPDA and State Parks processes and is confident that the PTMSC can play a vital role in implementing the vision for the park.

“Public-private partnerships can be very complicated but I’ve also seen the benefit of those relationships, combining the structure and knowledge of public organization with the agility of the private sector,” Boire said.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

In 1978, Boire began her career as a high-school intern at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. She said it was there that she “found her people,” individuals focused on informal science education, upon whom she has relied in both her professional and personal life.

“Science education in the classroom teaches much of the crucial nuts and bolts,” she said, “but often transformational learning happens with family, outside of school, and is one of the core elements and strengths that [PTMSC] brings to this community.”

After leaving Pacific Science Center, Boire went on to serve as the founding director of the ¡Explora! Science Center in Albuquerque, N.M.

Working hand-in-hand with the center’s board and the City of Albuquerque, Boire said she set about “serving the underserved,” addressing shortfalls in education in pueblo and low-income communities. In just three years, they were able to triple the capital funding for ¡Explora! from $4 to $12 million and take the center’s operating budget from nonexistent to $1 million annually.

In 1997, Boire was awarded a fellowship for graduate study at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. There she researched the socioeconomic impact of informal education entities such as the Pacific Science Center and ¡Explora!.

“I focused heavily on how to use these kinds of places as an agent of positive change in communities,” she said. “It was an amazing experience.”

After completing her master’s degree in Public Policy in 1998, Boire was asked to stay on as a consultant to the school in planning several initiatives, including developing the master’s degree recruiting strategy and exploring the creation of a public policy consultancy affiliated with the Woodrow Wilson School.

Subsequently, Boire worked with Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International, a non-governmental organization based in New York. With the mission to develop a global network of emerging leaders dedicated to sustainable development, Boire was responsible for the start-up creation of the U.S. affiliate, LEAD USA.

She said she looks forward to working with the Port Townsend community to expand the reach and impact of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.