Meet the Board: Doug Buchanan


Doug Buchanan, Senior Director of Membership and Frontline Revenue, COSI


Please start with small intro paragraph about where you work and what you do there. 

I’m the Senior Director of Membership and Frontline Revenue at COSI, Columbus' Center of Science and Industry. I’m responsible for four areas of COSI operations: Guest Relations, Call Center, Membership, and Group Sales. About 65 full-time and part-time COSI Team Members are part of the Membership and Frontline Revenue Department.

What is your earliest museum memory?

Visiting the Revolutionary War-era Hezekiah Alexander House in Charlotte, North Carolina with my third-grade class.

What led you to go into the museum field?

I started as a museum volunteer. I was volunteering for the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina while I was working for a bank. It didn’t take me long to realize I enjoyed by museum work a lot more than my work at the bank.

What is your workspace like?

My office is on COSI’s third floor in an administrative area. The portion of the building where my office is was once Columbus’ historic Central High School.

What item in your office can you not live without?

It would be hard to live without two essential tools that let me communicate with the members of my team: email and my walkie-talkie radio.

Describe your favorite work memory. What was your best day like?

My favorite time at COSI was the week COSI hosted the annual conference of the Association of Science-Technology Centers in 2012. This gathering brought science museum professionals from around the world to our museum in Columbus. Showing off COSI to our international colleagues was a lot of fun. We also threw a heck of a party.

What does your dream museum look like?

It would look a lot like COSI. I love our fantastic experiences and the spirit and attitude of our COSI Team.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

Care about everything. It’s what every museum leader I’ve admired has in common. You can’t deliver a top-notch guest experience in your museum if you don’t sweat the small stuff.

What are you currently reading?

“A History of Scotland” by Neil Oliver.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

When I think back over my eleven plus years at COSI, it’s hard to imagine what my professional experience here would have been like without my involvement with OMA. I’d be without many of the friends I’ve made, the inspirational moments I’ve experienced, and the professional development moments that my career has benefited from. Thanks OMA.

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