William T. Harris

William T. Harris oversees the strategic direction of the nonprofit educationally focused science museum, Space Center Houston. With approximately 400 employees and contractors, Space Center Houston is the No. 1 international attraction in the greater Houston area, generating $73 million in annual economic impact, 925 jobs and $36 million in personal income for the area. Houston’s first and only Smithsonian Affiliate, it is the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center and dubbed “The Big Draw” in the area by USA Today. Joining the foundation and center in April 2016, Harris has more than 30 years in nonprofit leadership including senior positions at museums and universities, where he led numerous multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns, principal and major gifts, marketing, communications, government relations and strategy development. Harris previously was at the California Science Center Foundation as senior vice president of development and marketing, overseeing all external affairs including board relations, campaigns, annual and membership programs, public funding, marketing and communications. Harris was a leader on the team to bring the Space Shuttle Endeavour to the California Science Center including its funding, promotion, transport, communications, marketing and exhibit opening. He directed a $165 million campaign that created a major new expansion called Ecosystems which nearly doubled the Center’s exhibit space presenting an unprecedented blend of live plants and animals, and hands-on science exhibits in 11 immersive environments, and established a neighborhood science-based elementary school serving 650 children. Prior leadership roles include multiple positions at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts in Boston; and Boston University School of Medicine. He served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Paraguay and is fluent in Spanish. He serves on the board of directors of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and Co-Chairs the Development Committees for the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). Harris holds a bachelor of science in psychology from Tufts University in Medford, Mass. He earned certificates in development from The Fundraising Institute at Boston University School of Communications and in community health and the delivery of health services at Tufts.