Michaeleen Gallagher

Michaeleen joined The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands in 2011, creating the Department of Education and Environmental Programs. With a background in science, art, and education, she currently holds a Master of Science in environmental policy and management from the University of Denver, a Bachelor of Arts in art history from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and certificates in environmental leadership and permaculture.

Michaeleen has worked in environmental education and research, tagging hummingbirds, and in wildlife rescue at the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in North Carolina as well as in Virginia, with an emphasis on birds of prey. She was the education specialist at The Living Desert in Palm Desert and The Fleet Science Center in San Diego. She spent three years teaching in Japan and served as a key volunteer advisor for the U.S. Marine Corps at Headquarters Battalion, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Active in the cultural sector, Michaeleen is one of the founding members of the Coachella Valley Days of Los Muertos collaborative. She served as president of the California Association of Museums (CAM), and chair of the Green Museums Initiative and is currently on the Strategic Action Committee. She is a former fellow and board member of the International Environmental Communication Association, and currently serves on boards of local arts and culture organizations.

Publications and exhibitions include Flight Plan: The Birds of Sunnylands; Art & Nature: The Gardens at Sunnylands; and two education guides for the IMAX films, Magic of Flight and Everest.