Steven Snyder, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Steven Snyder is the President & CEO for the Fleet Science Center in San Diego, CA. Since taking on the role in 2013, he has brought ambitious science experiences to the Fleet, like ?ILLUSION,? which made its North American premiere at the Fleet, and ?Taping Shape 2.0,? which opens at the end of February 2018. Most significantly, Snyder redefined the Fleet?s role, taking it from a science center in Balboa Park to a community organization dedicated to helping all San Diegans achieve their place in our shared scientific future. To that end, he expanded the Fleet Inquiry Institute to teach the inquiry method of science learning to more than 1,000 local educators a year and brought science into the community with unexpected programs like Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar, which brings 50 scientists to 25 bars all over San Diego County every quarter. Under his guidance, the Fleet launched 52 Weeks of Science, which leverages the wealth of local science and technology resources to bring science events directly to neighborhoods.
Before joining the Fleet, Dr. Snyder was the Vice President of Exhibit and Program Development at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA, and the Director of Science and Attraction Development at Science City / The Kansas City Museum in Kansas City, MO.
Dr. Snyder was a 2010 Noyce Leadership Fellow. Dr. Snyder is a member of the ASTC Finance Committee, a trustee of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership and a Steering Committee Member for the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering. In the past he has served on the Program Advisory Board, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, ASTC Program Planning Committee and the President?s House Task Force. He is asked to speak regularly at national and international conferences and workshops and has published the results of both scientific and educational work. As the Director of the Science Theater Outreach project, he led the group to receive the 1993 AAAS Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology.
Dr. Snyder graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and took his Ph.D. in Physics in 1996 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.
