Marie Beam ’95 is the Chief Executive Officer of the Discovery Museum in Acton, Massachusetts. We spoke with her about nonprofit work, her stimulating education at Simmons, and the value of curiosity.
“For me, a career in nonprofits satisfies my personal desire to feel like I am doing something to make the world better,” says Marie Beam ’95, who double majored in economics and comparative literature at Simmons. “I get to exercise my professional mind and learn more skills and meet wonderful people.”
As Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Discovery Museum (Acton, MA), Beam helps nurture children’s capacity for learning, curiosity, and problem-solving. “As we enter the age of AI [artificial intelligence], it is imperative to hone the attributes and skills that are uniquely human,” she notes.
Leading the Road to Discovery
“Discovery Museum is a children’s museum that helps kids and their families explore science and nature through play,” Beam says.
Founded in 1982, the institution has a long track record of serving the community and last year won the National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the nation’s highest honor for museums.
Discovery Museum serves about a quarter of a million people annually with hands-on science explorations both onsite and in school classrooms throughout New England. Beam is currently fundraising to double the reach and impact of the Museum’s in-school program, Traveling Science Workshops, from 60,000 students to 120,000 students over the next five years.
Part of the Museum’s mission is to help children engage their natural curiosity, risk taking, and creative faculties.
“We have remained true to our founding mission, which is all about providing learning experiences that work for kids — enriching and confidence-building experiences that leave them wanting to explore more in order to discover more and know more. We help kids understand how the world works by giving them a feeling of agency and command as they explore,” Beam explains.
In her role as CEO, Beam works with the development team on fundraising initiatives. She also hones marketing and public engagement efforts, and collaborates with senior leadership to help craft strategic plans and elevate the visitor experience.
“Working at Discovery Museum is an incredibly fulfilling experience,” Beam remarks. “Helping create an environment in which children and adults can learn together, and have those ‘aha’ moments together, is so meaningful … To me, anything that you can do to influence the lives of children and support the people who care for them is one of the most impactful investments you can make in the future of our society.”
Interdisciplinary Education at Simmons
Since her mother is a Class of 1958 Simmons alumna, Beam visited the Simmons campus when thinking about college. During that visit, Beam had a chance encounter with Professor (now) Emerita of Economics Barbara Sawtelle. “After hearing about my interests, she proceeded to give me the best pitch for why economics was the perfect major for me. On top of that, Professor Sawtelle is just a lovely, warm, bright, and wonderful person.”
Once Beam applied for Simmons’ honors program, Professor (now Emeritus) of Economics Donald Basch also encouraged her to major in economics. “I felt like I had been recruited,” Beam recalls. “I fell in love with Simmons and felt that it could really be a home for me.”
In Beam’s view, Basch, Sawtelle, and Professor Masato Aoki, “encapsulate the culture and humanity of Simmons. It went beyond the educational imperative, into knowing that they understood me as a person and would advocate for me. It was a delight to learn from them.”
In addition to the School of Management faculty, Beam had meaningful encounters with faculty from the Department of English (now the Department of Humanities). She eventually added comparative literature as a second major.
One of her favorite Simmons memories is when then-Professor of English Bill Manly read Beowulf in the original Old English to students by lamplight. “English became a parallel passion of mine, and it was amazing to be in a place where I could pursue both economics and literature,” Beam says.
While at Simmons, Beam also wrote a literature thesis on Edmund Spencer’s sixteenth-century text The Faerie Queene, under the supervision of (now Emeritus) Professor Richard Wollman. In this project, she explored the concept of honor within this literary work.
“At the Museum, we talk about learning and education as overlapping with enrichment. Often, the learning is not in the end product, but in the process,” says Beam. “This is what happened to me when I wrote my thesis at Simmons, which was a wonderful part of my experience.”
Beam credits her Simmons education for helping her attain a mastery of many skill sets. “At Simmons, I got a great understanding of how to think, write, and communicate, as well as how to be a productive member of a community.”
A student internship at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum introduced Beam to the world of fundraising and philanthropy. She worked for Simmons’ Office of Development from 2000 to 2008. “I got to know so many alumnae/i of different ages and generations within Simmons history … What an inspiring group of people to be part of,” she says.
Connecting with the Simmons Community
Beam loves connecting with Simmons students and multigenerational alumnae/i at the annual ECONnect dinner.
At this event, Beam advises the ever-increasing groups of people interested in the nonprofit sector. “I’m so pleased that more young women and Simmons students are seeing themselves as people who can make a difference through nonprofit work. And I’m so pleased that that talent pool will be more available to the nonprofit sector as time goes on,” she says.
As general advice to Simmons students, Beam tells them, “They don’t have to know everything … just trust that you can figure it out.”
Ultimately, Beam encourages students to take the course. “We need your voices in the world. We need people to remind us what’s really important. We need people to put pressure and shine light on things that deserve that light and benefit from that pressure.”