Eric Dorfman: Director
Raleigh, NC – The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS), the most visited museum in the state, has announced Eric Dorfman as its next Museum Director. Dorfman has extensive experience in strategic planning, successful fundraising, and community engagement, and a passion for scientific research, education and environmental conservation.
Previously, he was Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Powdermill Nature Reserve in Pittsburgh. Under Dorfman’s leadership, the Museum broke annual visitation records, created a live animal program, increased curatorial staff to leverage the museum’s collections strengths, initiated an education scholarship program to provide access to underserved communities, and raised over $24 million in four years to support the Museum’s mission.
Prior to joining the Carnegie Museum, he spent 13 years in New Zealand, including as Director of the Whanganui Regional Museum and Ward Observatory, Senior Manager of Science Development for the Museum of New Zealand/Te Papa Tongarewa, and Principal Regional Scientist and Manager at the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the largest natural history museum in the Southeast, is Raleigh’s top-rated tourist attraction, the state’s most popular museum, and a leader in progressive trends in nature and science museums globally. Featuring world-class exhibits, learning centers, live animals, and hands-on investigative labs, the museum combines elements of a natural history museum, science technology center, children’s museum, aquarium, and zoo. It is state-owned and managed, residing within the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
