Stepping Stones Founding CEO To Step Down From Position In Norwalk

Information via Stepping Stones Museum for Children

NORWALK, CT — Rhonda Kiest will step down from her position as president and CEO of Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk later this month 25 years after first beginning her tenure.

In an announcement, the museum said Kiest, who began her tenure as founding president and CEO of Stepping Stones in September 1999, will leave the museum Sept. 30.

Kiest began her work at the Norwalk-based attraction approximately six months before the museum's grand opening on March 11, 2000.

During her 25 years with Stepping Stones and the community at large, the children's museum has grown into an award-winning entity that has welcomed more than 8 million visitors thus far, according to the children's museum.

In the annoucement, Kiest said her approach to growing the museum has been to continually look forward.

"As I thought about the museum's 25th birthday next year, I came to the realization that it's time for the museum to grow so that it can continue to serve as a keystone in this community and maintain the positive impact it has on so many children," Kiest said in a statement. "It's time for me to turn over the reins to new leadership. I am really excited that the organization is ready to celebrate its 25th birthday and set its course for the next 25 years. My time leading Stepping Stones has been a great gift and I have every confidence that the museum's board and senior management team will make all the right decisions to continue to take the museum's legacy forward."

Amanda Connell, the museum's vice president of human resources and finance, will step in as the interim executive director upon Kiest's departure. Connell will be supported by the museum's senior management team during this transition period.

Stepping Stones' board of directors will begin a nationwide search for its next leader. A special committee of museum board members are leading the search process, according to the children's museum.

"After a 25-year run, we are all sad to see Rhonda leave us," Barbara Koteen, chair of the board of directors at Stepping Stones, said in a news release. "But she does so with an incredible record of accomplishment. We are forever grateful for her giving the museum the strength to be able to move on without her. That is one of her most incredible gifts, to have built a strong organization that can live on and grow."

With Kiest at the helm, the museum has opened several popular exhibits and also helped to launch several important initiatives, including Open Arms, which helps provide museum access to children of all abilities and backgrounds, and the Early Language and Literacy InitiativeSM (ELLI), which helps children build the learning skills necessary for future success.

Kiest played an integral leadership role for Norwalk ACTS as the collective impact agency transitioned from a grassroots organization into an independent nonprofit, according to Stepping Stones.

During her tenure, Stepping Stones also completed a 22,000 square-foot expansion in 2010, hosted the Association of Children's Museum's international children's museum conference in 2016 and weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening its doors after a 21-month hiatus in November 2021.

Stepping Stones is located at 303 West Avenue in Norwalk.