Photograph of Cynthia Sharpe

Cynthia Sharpe

Senior Principal

As Sr. Principal, Cynthia Sharpe is responsible for bringing museum, education, and inclusive perspectives to all Thinkwell projects.

  • Insight

    Cynthia is an active member of all cultural attraction projects, working closely with the creative team to ensure the vision of the exhibit stays true to the content and story, overseeing the evaluation and advocating for the institution and the visitor in all phases of design. For themed entertainment projects, she develops all educational programming and is an active member of the creative team, ensuring that the design is fully aligned with real content and appropriately integrates intellectual property.

    Cynthia’s twenty years of experience spans from permanent and traveling museum shows to multi- use destination resort planning, ranging from creative exhibition development and project management to business and master planning. She has gained a reputation for combining creative approaches to exhibition and education development with a keen understanding of early childhood education, social networking and new media, and visitor behavior.

    Prior to Thinkwell, Cynthia worked for the Museum of Science & Industry, serving in a variety of capacities including project management, creative concept development, education planning, show production, and strategic planning.

  • Awards

    2019 Thea for Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi

    2018 ASTC Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Leadership, non-CEO

    2013 Thea Award for Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

    2012 Thea Award for NatureQuest

    2011 Event Design Award for Best Museum Environment – NatureQuest

  • Education

    Master of Science, Genetics, University of Chicago

    Bachelor of Arts, Biology, Williams College

  • Background

    Museum of Science and Industry, Manager of Temporary and Traveling Exhibits

  • Memberships & Affiliations

    Former member, TEA Diversity and Inclusion Committee

    Former member, TEA Eastern North America board

    Former member, IAAPA Museum and Science Center Committee

    Former Chairperson, Traveling Exhibition Network, professional committee of AAM

    Member of AAM, ASTC, TEA, IAAPA, MCN, AASLH

  • Select Projects & Client Experiences

    The Fernbank Museum, multiple projects

    Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, UAE

    SeaWorld Abu Dhabi

    Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History,  3 West Project, Washington, D.C.

    Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.

    Expo 2020, Content Experience Master Plan

    Google, multiple projects

    Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, Georgia