Leadership & Executive Team

Elizabeth Babcock, PhD

President & Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Babcock was named the Adler’s next President and Chief Executive Officer in August 2025. Babcock joins the Adler with extensive experience in a wide array of leadership roles. Most recently, she served as the Founding Director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in Washington D.C., where she laid the groundwork for a landmark multimillion dollar campaign.

Prior to her time at the Smithsonian, Babcock was President and CEO of Forever Balboa, the city of San Diego’s private partner stewarding a 1,200-acre urban park. She also held the key senior role at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco as the Chief Public Engagement Officer and Roberts-Wilson Dean of Education. There, she directed the Morrison Planetarium and Science Visualization Studio and public-facing programs that reached over 20 million learners worldwide and secured significant philanthropic support for science education. In Chicago, Babcock previously served as Vice President of Education and Library Collections at the Field Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Babcock holds a PhD and MA in Cultural Anthropology from Indiana University. She also holds a Certificate in E-learning Design and Development from San Francisco State University, and a BA in Psychology and a BM in Music Education from Northwestern University.

Audris Wong

Vice President of Finance & Administration / Chief Financial Officer 

Audris Wong joined the Adler after spending over 20 years in strategy consulting, intellectual capital development, and operations. She has worked for or advised both for-profit and non-profit institutions, written case studies for Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago, and collaborated on articles published in strategy+business, Financial Times, and Harvard Business Review. Prior to joining the Adler, she was the Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School and was responsible for overseeing a $20 million capital project, developing the school’s long-term financial sustainability plan, and developing and implementing COVID-19 protocols to allow for full-time, in-person learning throughout the pandemic. She holds an undergraduate degree in History and Science as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University.

Andrew Johnston, PhD

Vice President of Museum Experience & Collections

Andrew Johnston oversees the Adler’s efforts in development of museum experiences, exhibitions, theater productions and operations, public observing, history of astronomy research, and conservation of and outreach with the Adler’s world-renowned collections. Johnston received his PhD in Geographical Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Johnston has worked in science museums for 35 years, conducting research and developing public programs.

Ryu Mizuno

Chief Revenue Officer

Ryu Mizuno has nearly twenty years of broad marketing and brand strategy experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining the Adler, Mizuno was Senior Director of External Relations for the YMCA of the USA where he was responsible for marketing efforts geared to elevate brand reputation, public awareness, and fundraising for the Y as a leading nonprofit for youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. He also served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Catholic Relief Services, and led award-winning marketing campaigns for world-renowned brands such as UNICEF, Major League Baseball, and Tiffany & Co.

Mizuno holds a BS degree in Communications from Boston University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He speaks fluent Japanese.

Laura Trouille, PhD

Vice President of Science Engagement & Visualization

Laura Trouille, PhD, has been leading the Adler’s Citizen Science efforts since June 2015.  Before that time she held a dual postdoctoral position at Northwestern University and at the Adler, as an observational astronomer (examining supermassive black holes) and a science-education researcher (on the impact of lesson plans incorporating computational thinking into K-12 STEM education).  She earned a Bachelors’ Degree summa cum laude from Dartmouth College and holds a doctorate in Astronomy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.