Meet Chelsie Webster, MEd. | CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsie Webster, MEd. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsie, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The first factor behind the success of the Modesto Children’s Museum is that it was created by the people of the Central Valley of California for the people of the Central Valley of California. MoChiMu (as we loving call the museum) was a grassroots project sparked as an idea between three families and eventually an entire community of folks gave time, energy and dollars to bring this organization from an idea to a reality. It took thousands of people to band together and say that the children of this area deserve a world class museum. The second huge factor in the success of the Modesto Children’s Museum is the huge need in the city of Modesto, Stanislaus County and the Central Valley of California at large. Much of the population in this area do not have access to family enrichment and have to drive 90-120 miles to have field trip experiences. This need calcified the communities vision from a nice idea to a necessity. Families who do not have the resources to travel (time, money or vehicles) may not ever get to experience a children’s museum without bringing the Modesto Children’s Museum to life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My story starts in a small village in Ohio called Lexington, where every “Webster” you came across in your day to day life was a Dentist. So thus, growing up it was assumed by most that I would enter that field and take over a family buisness. But, from a young age I was coached by my dad that I could be anything I’d want to be and by my mom that finding interest in other places was an atribute not a flaw. So while most of my relitives continued on in the dental field, I found myself with a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Early Childhood Education in a year where our education system was over saturated with teachers – thus I struggled to find meaningful work in my chosen field. This is how I found myself applying for a “Traveling Educator” position with the nationally renouned science museum, COSI. This position was a last ditch effort to stay within my chosen field, even if tangengally, and I remember waking up the morning of my interview defeated and uninterested in even going, but I am so thankful I did. Because this interview changed the tregectory of my life.

Once I had taken a role as a museum educator, I saw the world of education open up to me in brand new ways. The idea of “informal education” was not a concept familiar to me even after a masters degree in education. I learned there were so many ways to impact the lives of children outside of the classroom, and I learned that this way of teaching and learning just clicked for me. I quickly took on more responsibility within the museum and learned that while getting to impact children & families with educational content, I could also impact the experiences of my colleages and team with creating a good work culture & processes – a new layer to teaching that I had never considered. Furthermore, in these new roles, I got to learn about the buisness practices of a non-profit, scratching my ever constant itch for lifelong learning. This mix of impact and effeciancy, leading and learning, it was just right for me specifically – and it was a career path I never knew exisited.

The pandemic, as it did for many, disrupted my career in a way that I would have never anticipated. Museums as an industry were almost completly decimated by the inability to allow visitors into the shared spaces. So, for me this meant my entire team was furloughed, and I was suddenly without a job and without my purpose. It took me many months to get to the other side of this devistation, both for what it meant for me and for the people who I worked with and loved dearly. So after the sadness & loss settled in, I decided to frame this moment as an oportunity – how could I use this moment in time to learn a new skill and gain a new experience? So I pivioted my career and applied for work that was a hard left from my chosen career in museum education. I became a Marketing Strategist working on social media for a for-profit fashion company. 10 years into my career and every single part of my title was new to me. I had never worked for a for-profit company, never in fasion, never in marketing and not a day in social media. It was like jumping onto a rocket ship and hanging on for dear life.

But in looking back, this move made me more resiliant, more knowledgable and created long lasting bonds and relationships that I treasure dearly. I committed to learning as much as I could in the two and half years that I was with this company – and I learned more than I could have bargened for. I learned about successful cultures, I learned about building processes, I learned about marketing cadences and cycles, I learned about team dynamics. All of which prepared me for my next role, the role I had been unwittingly preparing for for my entire career.

I became the CEO of the Modesto Children’s Museum at 33 years old. This museum was 7 months away from opening, and I was its first paid employee – the biggest honor anyone had ever bestowed upon me was giving me the oportunity to join this team. Working along side the incredible founders and board, I got the chance to help build an organization from scratch. While it was the oportunity of a lifetime, it was also terrifying. And in the moments of fear & anxiety, I looked back and saw all of the challenges, disapointments, surprises and learnings and how each of them had added a tool to my tool belt that helped me feel prepared to take on something of this enormity. And while this role has seemed larger than life at times, the feeling I have most often is gratitude. I am so grateful for every force along the way that pushed me in this direction.

I think telling our stories is very powerful – someone could look at my career and see someone successful in their feild with no context. Instead, my story is one full of discovery, mentors, disapointments and following new paths without knowing it would work out. Trusting my gut and taking a chance to learn new things always lead me to the next oportunity. And even when things felt hard – being unemployed or underemployed – each of these experiences was critical to my current role. And I would not be here had things not worked out just as they have.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Top of the list would be the Modesto Children’s Museum!! A state of the art childrens museum nestled in downtown modesto with 10 world-class hands on exhibits. MoChiMu is a place where families can spend hours at a time an leave wanting more. Before your visit I would have brunch at Goodday Lucielles and after I would stop in at Bakeshop for a MoChiMu sugar cookie (they are SO good!)

If you are staying for the weekend, catch a show at Gallo Performing Arts Center or The State Theater and grab a drink at the local LoFi Labritories.

There is so much fun to be had here in the Central Valley – and I cannot wait for more folks to experience the joy of this place.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In every story there are many people who stand out as meaninful influencers, and my story is no different – I am so grateful for the community that has heald me up at every step in my journey, I wish I could name them all, but for brevity I will just name a few. First, I must credit my parents for instilling the idea that I was capable of anything I set my mind to. They made it clear from a young age that my passions were more important than any external expectations of me. I am so grateful for this point of view. Second, I had a very influencial boss who saw my potential and coached me to live up to it right out of graduate school – even when I saw nothing but barriors, he saw an oportunities for me, so a huge thank you to Kurt Huffman for believing in me from day one and for continuing to cheer me on today. Third, I would like to thank Katie Barber, a founder of the Modesto Children’s Museum and it’s current board president. She has shown me what true ego-less leadership looks like. She creates safe spaces and is more generous with her time and effort than anyone I know. She also gave me an oportunity to step up in my career and treated me with such respect and trust – which is a very powerful thing to a young leader. And finally, to the female friendships in my life – I have been very lucky to build a tightknit group of supportive women who at every turn have encouraged me, counciled me, picked me up and cheered me on. I think friendships are often the unsung heros in any success. Thanks to each of you special humans for being on every step of my journey with me.

Website: www.modestochildrensmuseum.org

Instagram: @Modestochildrensmusem

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/modesto-childrens-museum

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/modestochildrensmuseum

Image Credits
Marilyn Day Photogrpahy & Seritonin Creative