By Pat Lawrence
Judy Wellington |
Judy Wellington chose to take a road less traveled, even unmapped,
in her career path, but the destination seems as natural as the science
she knows. The President and CEO of Avampato Discovery Museum
at the Clay Center graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College
in Massachusetts, went to Harvard University where she earned M.A.
and Ph.D. degrees in Physical Organic Chemistry and then received
a National Science Foundation fellowship to complete postdoctoral
studies at the University of Pennsylvania. “I was fortunate
to have a wonderful college professor who taught me I could be anything
I wanted to be and helped give me the confidence to go after it.”
Judy worked in industry during the summers, using physical and organic
applications to build prototypes for industrial plants. “I
thought I wanted to be an industrial chemist but, as a teaching fellow,
I found that I loved teaching.” She taught college level
chemistry for two years, then studied chemical communications in mammals
and alligators as a research scientist with the Monell Chemical Senses
Center. She says the interdisciplinary research center was inspiring. “Everyone
was so bright! For every question, there were scientists who
knew how to find the answer.”
There was excitement outside the laboratory, too. “For
the pheromone studies we needed subjects - mice, guinea pig and alligators. At
night we would go out and catch 1-2 year old alligators, keep them
two days and let them go.”
Judy says “Somewhere along the line I learned to take risks;
to follow a dream and go for a goal. Although I’m highly
educated in a specialized field, I haven’t let that education
inhibit my interest in other areas. To some, my career may seem
eclectic. To me, it’s a natural progression of growth and
expansion of interests.”
Following her research career, Judy “ran away to the Philadelphia
Zoo” where she served as the Vice President of Planning. She
says, “The President of the Philadelphia Zoo was an extraordinary
manager who was quick to delegate to a staff which he treated with
respect and trust. It was a very good career move. I learned
a lot and had much more contact with people. It was just a lot
of fun. Part of my job was to serve as the Zoo escort for trips
to Nepal, the Galapagos, and Antarctica.”
At the zoo, Judy was in charge of all facility and strategic planning. Under
a contract between the zoo and the state of New Jersey, she oversaw
the design and construction of the New Jersey State Aquarium. “For
years, every gift I received had a fish motif.” She was
also responsible for the operations planning and the startup of the
facility, working with the design team with the state. When the
Aquarium opened, she became its first President and CEO, eventually
becoming President of the Aquarium’s foundation.
Born in Yonkers, NY with her professional life in the northeast,
Judy was intrigued when a professional placement agency called to
ask if she would be interested in heading an art and science center
in Charleston WV. By April of 2000, she was directing Sunrise
Museum and facilitating the move to the Clay Center for the Arts and
Sciences. In 2003, the Museum changed its name to the Avampato
Discovery Museum.
She says, “I believe that one should never stop learning. That’s
probably why I’ve spent so much of my career in the museum field. Museums
are places where, no matter your age, you can always learn something
new.”
Between the art exhibits, the science center, administration and
fundraising, Judy works with a physical trainer “to keep me
sane!” She likes classical music and loves movies, old
and new, something she shares with her son, a film major.
She says she’s still learning about art and looks forward to
expanding the knowledge. She isn’t worried about the future
or changes it might bring. She says, “The best way to affect
the future is to do the best job I can in the present. So, the
present is what interests me the most.”
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