Who Is the New Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History?
The organization says Carey Scheide Miller is joining at “an exciting time.”
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY | PHOTO BY JOSHUA FRANZOS, TREEHOUSE MEDIA
A new leader will take the helm at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Carnegie Museums announced that Carey Scheide Miller has been appointed as the new director and vice president of the museum. Since 2023, she has served as the vice president and chief development officer for Carnegie Museums, leading outreach and philanthropic support for the four institutions under its umbrella.
Under her leadership, Carnegie Museums launched the public phase of its $500 million comprehensive plan in May 2026; the ALL TOGETHER campaign is currently at $368 million, or 74% of its goal.
“Carey is a thoughtful, collaborative, and experienced leader who has amply proven her ability to take on new challenges in a series of complex institutions,” Carnegie Museums president and CEO Steven Knapp says in a statement. “She firmly believes in the power of museums to educate and inspire and to transform communities, and we were fortunate to have her join our museum leadership — first, as Chief Development Officer, and now as Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.”
He adds that Miller joins at an “exciting time” for the museum, which is launching major initiatives in the coming years and “will benefit greatly from her skill in stimulating and guiding the creativity of her colleagues.”
Prior to joining Carnegie Museums, Miller spent 25 years in philanthropy, most recently as Chatham University’s vice president of advancement. Earlier roles included serving as the senior director of development and campaign director at Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, as well as the associate director of major gifts at Carnegie Mellon.
She earned her Ph.D in organizational leadership from Northeastern University; a master of arts in public history with a focus on museums, archives and editing from Duquesne University; and a bachelor of arts in history from Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College. She also completed Leadership Pittsburgh’s nine-month professional development program.
For Miller, the Carnegie Museums have been a staple throughout her life, first inspiring her curiosity as a child and later shaping her academic and professional path through public history studies and an internship at the Museum of Natural History.
“To help guide an institution that has played such a formative role in my own story is both humbling and deeply meaningful,” she says. “The Museum of Natural History helps people of all ages understand their place in the natural world. By exploring the ancient past, encountering nature’s wonders and fostering new scientific discoveries, we gain insights that help us respond to today’s challenges and imagine new possibilities for the future.”
She adds that she looks forward to “making nature and our connection to it relevant, accessible and inspiring” and connecting people to “the remarkable history of life on Earth.”
As the museum begins its search to fill Miller’s previous chief development officer role, officials say Jason Zelinko, senior associate vice president of development, will serve in the interim.
