Milwaukee Public Museum

Ellen Censky, PhD
President & CEO

A Cedarburg, Wisconsin native, Dr. Ellen J. Censky began her career at the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) in 1977. She went on to serve in other leadership capacities nationally, including at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, where she received national recognition for her work in founding and developing the BioBlitz program, which is now a staple community outreach program at institutions in every U.S. state and in countries around the world.

Dr. Censky continued to expand her leadership skills as the Director of the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Director and CEO of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, guiding both institutions through significant expansions and seven-figure capital campaigns. Following successful tenures of leadership across the country, Dr. Censky returned to the Milwaukee Public Museum in 2008 to serve as Senior Vice President and Academic Dean. Today, Dr. Censky is responsible for leading the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Dr. Censky earned her Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and her doctorate in biological sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.

Julie Quinlan Brame
Senior Vice President of Development

Julie Quinlan Brame is thrilled to lead efforts to connect community members to ways they can help the Museum thrive. She is excited to return to MPM in this role after beginning her development career at MPM. 

Prior to returning to the Museum, Quinlan Brame was the Vice President of Advancement at Alverno College, where she led the development, marketing, and alumnae relations teams. Under her leadership, Alverno’s fundraising team increased annual giving from $2.5 million to $12 million and succeeded in a $32 million capital campaign, the largest in the College’s history.  Julie also served as the Vice President of Development for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and worked on the marketing team of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. 

She did her master’s degree studies in vocal performance at New England Conservatory of Music and holds a bachelor’s degree of music from UW-Madison. She has been honored with the Scott M. Cutlip Professional Fundraiser Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals—Southeastern Wisconsin,  and was named a 40 Under 40 honoree by The Business Journal Milwaukee.