A longtime leader in non-profit organizations from Washington State who formerly taught in Massachusetts has been named the new executive director of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

The center’s Board of Directors said that Melissa Edwards, who has 15 years of experience in educational program management at Blue Origin, a private space-flight company, and the Museum of Flight in Seattle, will replace Jeanne Gerulskis, who is stepping down after 27 years in the position.

Gerulskis came to New Hampshire in 1998 to lead what was then the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. During her career, the stand-alone planetarium has turned into a 45,000-square-foot science center, and she shepherded its evolution from a state agency to an independent nonprofit air and space museum.

“In the time I have been here, well over two million people have come through our doors to learn all they can about the universe in which we live. … I have gotten to know Melissa over the past few months as we’ve worked together on the transition, and I can honestly say I have full confidence that the museum will thrive under her leadership,” Gerulskis said.

Before her time in Seattle, Edwards was campus director at Boston’s Citizen Schools and taught in Hyde Park and Brookline, Mass., as well as teaching elementary school in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.

While at Blue Origin, Edwards established a foundational internship program that significantly elevated diversity and retention in aerospace workforce development. Before that, Edwards spent 13 years at the Museum of Flight, where her roles included director of aerospace education, director of digital learning, and director of the museum’s Aerospace Scholars program. Edwards has a master’s degree in teaching from Evergreen State College.

“As someone who believes in the important role inspiration plays in education, I am honored to take the helm of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center to continue to build on the legacy of America’s first astronaut and the first teacher in space,” Edwards said. “We will continue to innovate and create an inspiring space that ignites curiosity and fosters a love for space and STEM.”