Dava Schub, Chief Executive Officer and Museum Director
Dava Schub brings 30 years of experience leading and growing cultural organizations and nonprofits to her role at CMOM. Working together with the Board of Directors and staff leadership, she advances the museum’s mission across its exhibitions, programs, and outreach. Dava joined the museum in 2023, and her directorship will guide CMOM’s move to our new home at 361 Central Park West.
Dava comes to CMOM following her tenure as the CEO of the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center in Washington, DC, a growing community organization valued for its excellence in arts and education. Prior to joining the DCJCC, she served as the Chief Program Officer at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, where she was responsible for overseeing a $12-million portfolio of the organization’s $34 million operating budget. Dava previously served as Associate Director at Stamford JCC, Assistant Executive Director of JCC of South Hampton Roads in Virginia, and Associate Director of Camps at the 92nd Street Y.
Dava received her BA from University of Wisconsin, and MSW from Yeshiva University School, School of Social Work, with a focus on community organizing. Dava served for more than a decade as the co-chair of the BJ/SPSA shelter on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and currently serves on the Board of Directors of West Side Campaign Against Hunger and JCC Global.
Leslie Bushara, Chief Program Officer
A key member of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM)’s leadership, education, and exhibition team for over 25 years, Leslie Bushara is responsible for strategic and long-range institutional, educational and exhibition planning.
During her tenure Leslie has led key programmatic initiatives including the development of CMOM’s early childhood exhibit Playworks™, and partnerships with the National Institutes of Health, the New York City Housing Authority, and the Department of Homeless Services to create a first-of-its-kind learning hub model, which has expanded to include over forty permanent hubs in public housing and shelters throughout New York City. In 2018, Leslie spearheaded the partnership with the NYC Department of Correction to launch a national program model that reunites incarcerated parents with their children.
Leslie received her B.F.A from New York University and served on the executive committee for the Association of Children’s Museums and Robin Hood’s FUEL for 50 committee. Leslie published articles for the White House Blog, and Cognitive Development in Museum Settings published by Psychology Today, 2016, and received recognition with the White House’s Champions of Change award in 2013; the NYS Association for the Education of Young Children’s Champions for Children Award in 2017; and the Beyond Housing Award from the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness in 2018.
Peggy Hwan Hebard, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Peggy Hwan Hebard oversees finance, operations, strategic planning, and human resources at CMOM. In collaboration with the CEO and Director, she is responsible for developing the Museum’s overall business strategy and financial operations, including the management of CMOM’s capital project for its future home.
Peggy joined CMOM after serving as Senior Advisor to the Executive Office at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for 14 years. During her tenure at the Met, she led a range of institutional initiatives to upgrade and enhance the museum’s operations, including analyzing the financial and logistical impact of opening to the public seven days a week; overseeing the turnaround of restaurant operations and the launch of a related $5-million capital project; and restructuring, streamlining, and outsourcing the image licensing process. She served as a member of numerous task forces at The Met, including the Re-Opening Leadership, Operations, and Revenue Executive Teams, to help implement institutional development and change.
Prior to her work at The Met, Peggy was a financial analyst at Standard & Poor’s, an investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston, a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, and an auditor with Coopers & Lybrand. She earned an undergraduate degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Yale School of Management, and a Masters in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She holds the CFA and CPA designations.
Karen Kincaid, Chief Advancement Officer
With more than fifteen years of experience spearheading capital campaigns and fundraising initiatives within the cultural sphere, Karen Kincaid works closely with CMOM’s CEO and Director and Executive Leadership team as the Museum continues to develop and mount new safe, socially distanced programs onsite at its current facility and to prepare for the creation of its new, expanded home at 361 Central Park West. Karen began her new role on February 2, 2021.
Karen joins CMOM following a 17-year tenure at Lincoln Center. As Vice President for Strategic Advancement, Karen worked closely with executive leadership to conceive the strategy, messaging and launch of a $550-million capital campaign to renovate David Geffen Hall in partnership with her colleagues at the New York Philharmonic. Previously, as Director of Individual Giving at Lincoln Center, she was responsible for $17 million in annual operating revenue, guiding strategies for Membership, Gifts, and Advisory Councils. From 2007 to 2012, Karen played a major role in realizing Lincoln Center’s $1.2-billion Bravo Campaign for a campus-wide renovation, serving first as Campaign Communications Officer and then as Assistant Director. Before her long tenure at Lincoln Center, she was the Director of Public Relations at the Algonquin Hotel, where she developed marketing strategies and implemented communications related to a multi-million-dollar restoration and product re-launch. Karen received her BA in Art History from University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
