ALLENTOWN, PA. June 16, 2020 — Lin Erickson, Da Vinci Science Center Executive Director and CEO, has been named a recipient of the 2020 Circle of Excellence Award as part of the annual Lehigh Valley Business Women of Influence Awards.
 
The Circle of Excellence Award is a new addition to the Women of Influence Awards this year. The award honors exceptional women who are at the pinnacle of their careers, are considered icons of their industry, and hold a sustained leadership role in both their organization and their community.
 
Erickson was honored for over 30 years of dedication to supporting education in the Lehigh Valley area, most notably her two tenures as the Science Center’s Executive Director and CEO. Her first tenure from 1997-2005 included the Science Center’s emergence as an independent nonprofit organization after being incubated at Lehigh University, its merger with Leonardo da Vinci’s Horse, Inc., and creation of its current visitor facility in Allentown, Pa.
 
Erickson’s second tenure as the Da Vinci Science Center’s Executive Director and CEO began in March 2013 and has included several years of record-breaking visitation, program, and event participation; an expansion of its educational and community partnerships; a formalization of its efforts to support current and future female professionals in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; and an increased emphasis on high impact programs with career connections for underserved students. Erickson is also leading the development of a plan for a major new science center in downtown Allentown.
 
“On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, I would like to extend a sincere congratulations to Lin for this well-deserved honor,” said James McLean, Chairman of the Board at Da Vinci Science Center and Senior Vice President, Investments at Steel Valley Investment Group. “We are proud to have her at the helm;  she and her team are talented, innovative, and passionate professionals who have dedicated themselves to bringing science to life and lives to science for students and families throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond.”