CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER NAMES ELIZABETH PIERCE CEO

CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER NAMES ELIZABETH PIERCE CEO

Pierce [X] brings extensive experience, energy and expertise to the role

CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Museum Center today announced that its
Board of Trustees has appointed Elizabeth Pierce [X] as president and
CEO. In this role, Pierce will also serve as a member of the Board of
Trustees. Pierce had previously been named interim CEO and Chief
Operating Officer in January following the retirement of Douglass W.
McDonald.

"After careful evaluation of the qualifications for this position, we
determined the best candidate was also the one currently in the role,"
said Francie S. Hiltz, chair of the Board of Trustees. "Elizabeth has
tremendous passion to fuel curiosity. She understands the scope of our
business operations and the impact we want to have on our community. We
are confident that she is the right person at the right time to lead
Cincinnati Museum Center into the future," stated Hiltz.

Pierce is an advocate for early childhood education and lifelong
learning, beginning her career at Chicago Children's Museum. She
carried that passion to Cincinnati in 1999, serving as a communications
consultant to Cincinnati Museum Center in 2001. Her relationship with
CMC grew deeper through volunteer and leadership advisory roles from
2004 to 2007, before joining staff as vice president of marketing &
communications in 2007. She has been a key member of the senior
leadership team for the past eight years, driving financial success
through robust museum admissions revenue, OMNIMAX(R) [x] films,
blockbuster special exhibitions and community partnerships.

"I sincerely know that we have made the right choice in our new CEO,"
said Rev. Damon Lynch, Jr., pastor of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church
[x] and retired co-chair of the National Underground Railroad Freedom
Center [x]. "I have worked with her over the past four to five years
and have observed her longer than that. I know Cincinnati Museum Center
and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will be well-served
with her at the helm."

During her tenure, Elizabeth has dynamically engaged CMC curators and
exhibition staff to leverage the vast collections for community impact
and fundraising growth including the celebration of Union Terminal's
75th anniversary year (200, the series of CMC Treasures exhibitions
(2012-2015) and the Daughters of the Queen City [x] initiative
(2014). From local history to premiere global exhibitions, Pierce will
guide CMC as future content and programs are kept relevant, fresh and
prolific for valued visitors.

"Elizabeth Pierce shares an engaging energy for learning and community
impact," said Mary Zalla, Landor's [x] global president of consumer
brands and managing director of Cincinnati and Chicago offices. "Her
passion to shape the future of Cincinnati Museum Center and her deep
knowledge of the museum field make her the right leader right now."

Pierce has been a leader in the efforts to secure public support for
Union Terminal. She served as a key staff leader of the 2014 Cultural
Facilities Task Force. She helped drive the Save Our Icons community
engagement campaign in partnership with Music Hall [x] resident
companies and Landor; and she established a vital partnership with the
National Trust for Historic Preservation [x]. Pierce guided the Union
Terminal sales tax campaign, resulting in the passage of this vital
community support by 62% of Hamilton County voters.

Pierce has built an extensive museum career over the past twenty years,
gaining experience in programming, collections care, special events
planning and fundraising at notable museums including the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum [x] in Washington, DC, the Corcoran Gallery
of Art [x], the National Endowment for the Arts [x] and the Chicago
Children's Museum.

In addition, Pierce is an expert in strategic communications. She served
in leadership roles as a consultant for seven years, further honing her
community engagement and media relations skills. Pierce serves as a
regional director of the PR & Marketing Committee of the American
Alliance of Museums [x], where national museum leaders and colleagues
have recognized her capabilities.

"I am delighted that our board has chosen Elizabeth Pierce to become the
next CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center," said John E. Pepper, Jr., retired
CEO of Procter & Gamble [x] and trustee of Cincinnati Museum Center and
the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. "I have come to know
Elizabeth well during the years since the merger of the Freedom Center
and Museum Center and have developed tremendous regard for her
leadership, her intellectual grasp of the key strategic issues, her
decisiveness and her energy. The Museum Center could not be in better
hands."

Pierce recognizes the unique breadth and depth of knowledge that
Cincinnati Museum's collections represent, and she has a clear vision
for how to showcase them in the future to enhance community knowledge.

"We will see a fully restored Union Terminal as the place where science
and history to work together to deliver rich and memorable experiences
for our visitors. These are toddlers dressed in their superhero capes,
teenagers using technology, adults deeply engaged in content and
grandparents who want to give the gifts of wonder and awe," said Pierce.
"Our team has limitless potential to evoke curiosity, critical thinking
and education for all ages. I am deeply honored to take on this role."

Housed in the historic Union Terminal, the mission of Cincinnati Museum
Center is to inspire people of all ages to learn more about the world
through science; regional history and educational, engaging and
meaningful experiences. With more than 1.4mm visitors annually and a
budget of $22mm, Cincinnati Museum Center is the largest cultural
institution in the city of Cincinnati. For more information, visit
cincymuseum.org [x] or follow @CincyMuseum on Twitter [x]/Facebook
[x]/Instagram [x].

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About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) at Union Terminal is a nationally
recognized institution and national historic landmark. Dedicated to
sparking community dialogue, insight and inspiration, CMC was awarded
the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the
Institute of Museum and Library Services and received accreditation from
the American Alliance of Museums in 2012. CMC is one of only 16 museums
in the nation with both of these honors, making it a unique asset and a
vital community resource. Union Terminal has been voted the nation's
45th most important building by the American Institute of Architects.
Organizations within CMC include the Cincinnati History Museum, Duke
Energy Children's Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science, Robert D.
Lindner Family OMNIMAX(R) Theater and Cincinnati History Library &
Archives. Recognized by Forbes Traveler Magazine as the 17th most
visited museum in the country, CMC welcomes more than one million
visitors annually. For more information, visit www.cincymuseum.org [x].

ABOUT THE NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (NURFC) opened August
2004 on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
Through permanent and changing exhibits, public programs and online
resources, we reveal stories about freedom's heroes, from the era of the
Underground Railroad to contemporary times, challenging and inspiring
everyone to take courageous steps for freedom today. In 2010, NURFC
opened the world's first permanent, museum-quality exhibition on human
trafficking. Since then it has been working to connect the lessons of
the Underground Railroad to inform and inspire the fight to end human
trafficking. Partnerships include Historians Against Slavery [x],
Polaris Project [x], Free the Slaves [x], US Department of State [x]
and International Justice Mission [x]. In 2014, NURFC launched a new
online resource in the fight against modern slavery, endslaverynow.org
[x]. More than 1 million people have visited NURFC's galleries, with
another 2 million experiencing NURFC online at freedomcenter.org [x].