You can follow the team on the Eureka! Experts blog and twitter or contact us by email.
Leigh-Anne Stradeski, Chief Executive
Key areas of expertise:
- Children's museums and science and discovery centres
- Play for play's sake
- Learning through play
Leigh-Anne Stradeski has been the Chief Executive of Eureka! The National Children’s Museum since 2000. She came to Eureka! from Canada where she was Executive Director of the London Regional Children’s Museum in London, Ontario between 1994 and 2000.
Prior to entering the Children’s Museum field, Leigh-Anne held senior level positions in public relations, marketing and fundraising in the tertiary health care and higher education sectors. Leigh-Anne holds an MPA from the University of Western Ontario and a BA from the University of Alberta. She has held positions on boards and advisory committees in arts, culture and museums on both sides of the Atlantic. She is immediate Past President of Hands-On Europe, (the European association of children’s museums), a trustee of both the US based Association of Children’s Museums and the Association of Science and Discovery Centres – UK, and a member of the Advisory Board for the development of the National Children’s Museum in Washington.
Leigh-Anne was awarded Voluntary Sector Director of the Year for Yorkshire and Humber by the Institute of Directors in 2006, and in 2010 received an Inspiration Award from Calderdale Community College. A great believer in the importance and power of community, Leigh-Anne is Chairman of the Community Foundation for Calderdale and Past Chair of its Grants Committee.
Tudor Gwynn, Projects Director
Key areas of expertise:
- Museum and gallery development
- Science communication
- Consultation with children
Tudor has been at Eureka! since 2001 and has responsibility for the project management of the re-development and expansion of Eureka! from the Master plan that sets out Eureka!’s ambitions for the next 15 years. He also has overall responsibility for the facilities management, the exhibition management element of the operation as well as Eureka!’s sustainability strategy.
Over the past 9 years he has delivered capital projects totalling over £3.5M, revenue programmes of £1M and manages a facilities budget of £0.5M annually. Tudor joined Eureka! from the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.
Outside Eureka! Tudor is Chairman of Wild Rose Heritage and Arts, a Calderdale based oral history charity.
Becky Johnson, Play & Learning Director
Key areas of expertise:
- Early childhood development and the importance of play
- Learning through play
- Informal learning
Becky joined Eureka! in September 2005 and has responsibility for the Visitor Services and Learning teams in the museum as well as oversight of the Eureka! Nursery.
Becky is a strong advocate for learning through play and developing high quality experiences for children and their families, with extensive experience of working in the Early Years sector in the UK, Italy and Hong Kong.
Her role includes developing and leading on the implementation of initiatives and programmes which support learning through play. She also identifies and develops partnerships which contribute to Eureka!’s understanding of the importance of play and supports Eureka!’s long term objectives within the informal learning setting. Becky is the Eureka! coordinator of the Leeds Metropolitan University partnership, which involves overseeing many cross departmental initiatives. One of the most significant of these initiatives was the development of the country’s first cross sector modules on Play and Learning in a Children's Museum for their Childhood Studies and their Playwork students.
Externally, Becky is a board member of Yorkshire Play and is on the Early Arts advisory board.
Liz Smallman, Head of Learning
Key areas of expertise:
- Primary education
- The importance of play for children's development
- Consultation with children
Liz has been at Eureka! for 15 years and is responsible for developing playful learning opportunities for school and family audiences.
Liz is a Primary Education graduate with a specialism in the Expressive Arts and Theatre in Education. As a former teacher Liz plays a pivotal role in the development of playful learning programmes delivered on site and off site, public events and exhibition developments. Externally she is the Regional Convenor of the Group for Education in Museums (GEM), a regular contributor to the Yorkshire Museums Training Group and represents Eureka! at the Association of Science and Discovery Centres. Until recently she was a governor of a local school and her writing experience includes being a columnist for the National magazine Child Education.
