We do this by creating engaging experiences that highlight the many fascinating technical and business innovations that have taken place in this region and continue to change the world.

Located in the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill, an icon of the American Industrial Revolution, the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation brings together intriguing artifacts, cultural insights, and inspiring stories to delight people of all ages, enabling them to see the past and envision the future.

Trustees

Tristan Campbell
Mark Cohen
Brian Crafts
Howard Gorin
Jesse Hilton
Avneet Hira
Ellie Lowell
Bill Moonan
Ron Pulicari
Rudy Ruggles - Chair
Michael Turpin
Doug Waybright - Treasurer

Rex Baker IV - Clerk of the Corporation

Staff

Diana Baez - Assistant Event Manager
Jillian Doherty - Event Manager
Anjelica Escalante - Educator/Visitor Experience Specialist
Steve Guerriero - Director of Education
Deb Jose - Educator
Chris Ko - Charles River Collaboratory Manager
Michelle Morello - Administrator
Joe Niedbala - Director of Operations
Bob Perry - Executive Director
Isaiah Plovnick - Digital Media Creation/Exhibition & Artifact Stewardship
Bill Wheeler - Visitor Services Manager/Private Events Liaison

Nicholas Adams - Museum Educator and Senior Tour Guide
Gabriel Hurdle - Shaughnessy Family Intern
Lain Orndorff - Michael Brewster and Marcia McClintock Folsom Educator Fund Intern

Advisors

Mike Barnett, PhD - Buehler Faculty Fellow, Professor, STEM ED, Boston College
Todd Cahill - Machinist, model maker, mechanician, artist
Jack Cox - History teacher. Waltham Sr High School, ret.
Steve Dunwell - Historian, aerial & architecture photographer; publisher, teacher
Bob Forrant, PhD - Distinguished University Professor, Emeritus, UMass Lowell
George Hein, PhD - Professor Emeritus, Lesley University
Dan Holbrook, PhD - Professor Emeritus of History, Marshall University
Mort Isaacson - Chair, Waltham Historical Commission
Steve Lubar - Professor of American History, Brown University, former Curator, Smithsonian Institution
John Mayer - former Executive Director, Amesbury Carriage Museum
Wayne McCarthy - President, Waltham Historical Society
Ian Roy - Robert I. Mallet Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Business, Brandeis University
Caroline Tilden - Director of Investor Operations, Breakthrough Energy Ventures

The Charles River Collaboratory Leaders and Instructors

In Remembrance:
Robert "Bob" Wilson Timmerman, PE, CEM, LEED AP 1944-2026 - Museum Volunteer, Trustee, Friend

Volunteers

Jerry Baum
Paul Becker
Carl Chen
Jon Currier
Susan Davis
Joshua Echevarria - Lesley University Intern
Ellen Fisher
Richard Friedman
Eve Gehle
Howard Gorin
Sarah Grimes
Lynn Hallen - Volunteer Coordinator
Elise Hutton
Jessica Kenney
Caleb Levy
Palig Mouradian
Mark Nahabedian
Tom Norris - Collections Manager
Troy Nudel
Wayne Paskerian
Carole Pugliese
Dan Rosen
Amy Rothman
Emily Stein
Alex Tanowitz
Phil Wallas - Library Archives
Isaac Ward
Roger Wiegand

Cultural Program Curator

Mark Erelli - 2nd SHIFT Music Series

Cultural Event Coordinator

Elana Winkler

Cultural Event Specialists

Michael Bavaro - Video Production
Steve Wirtes - Audio Production

Watch City Bike Lab

Martha Creedon
Eamon Dawes
Harry Friedman 
Leo Keightley
Allison Ma'luf
Nathan Phillips
Adam Scotto

Waltham Repair Cafe

Katie Cohen
Krysta Petrie 

In 1980, members of the Waltham community, led by the passionate wisdom of industrial historian Michael Folsom (pictured), who would be the Museum's first Executive Director, incorporated the Charles River Museum of Industry. The organization officially opened its doors as a Museum in 1988.

These cultural, civic, and business leaders believed "that the people of New England deserve[d] a clearer understanding of the region's rich industrial heritage and the ways that heritage continues to shape their lives." The founding members wanted a "well-planned and professionally-executed museum," and believed that incorporating resources for "instruction, recreation, preservation, and research" would go far in achieving their goals.