Our Team

“It is so exciting to be creating something that doesn’t yet exist anywhere in the world: a center for science and big ideas bringing researchers, artists, writers, poets, photographers, astronomers, and composers together to help us understand the universe and our own place in it. We hope to create a beacon for future generations of scientists to be inspired by. Coolest. Job. Ever.”

Dennis Kois

Executive Director

Dennis is responsible for the leadership and fundraising for Yerkes Future Foundation and the restoration of Yerkes Observatory. He previously led science museums, contemporary art centers, and sculpture parks around the United States. He started his career leading exhibit design at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. Dennis is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee and New York University. He lives in Milwaukee with his wife Kelly and a mixed family of five kids, ages 5 to 16.

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