Chief Program Officer Says "Yes" to Detroit Zoological Society

The architect of an educational science program for youth known as YES (Youth Exploring Science) has said “yes” to leading the Detroit Zoological Society’s (DZS) education department as Chief Program Officer. 

Diane Y. Miller joins the DZS from the Saint Louis Science Center where she worked for 17 years, most recently as Chief Educational Outreach Officer. She started her career at the California Museum of Science and Industry where she was Director of Community Outreach. 

“Part of our mission is to develop outstanding and unique educational opportunities for the community, and we are excited to put Diane’s unique experiences, knowledge, skills and abilities to work to further that objective,” said CEO and Executive Director Ron Kagan. 

Miller’s YES program, created in 1997 at the Saint Louis Science Center, employs 300 underserved teens annually. Throughout the course of their high school career, the students are offered hands-on, work-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics experiences that prepare them for careers in these fields. The program received the 2005 Association of Science and Technology Centers Leading Edge award. 

Miller is past president of Midwest YouthALIVE! – a professional development organization for museum executives working with underserved youth – and serves as an advisor to the NASA Office of Education. She was selected from among science center and children’s museum executives worldwide as a Leadership Fellow by the Noyce Foundation. 

Miller received her Bachelor of Arts from California State University Chico.