Dené Mosier is an innovator and national leader in play-based learning, advancing the role of children’s museums as engines for education, healing and family connection.

She has two degrees from K-State, a bachelor’s in family studies and human services in 1997 and a master’s degree in gerontology in 2014. She also served as an instructor in the College of Health and Human Sciences.

After building her career as a teacher and school administrator, she has led the nonprofit Kansas Children’s Discovery Center since 2015. Under her leadership, the museum has achieved record attendance, launched a mobile museum, completed a major capital expansion that doubled its size, and created innovative programs for children facing life-threatening illnesses and for those with incarcerated parents. Mosier is also active in national advocacy for children and families, including selection as a 2025 Aspen Institute Fellow — the first Kansan chosen for the prestigious fellowship, and service in multiple leadership roles with the Association of Children’s Museums.

She and her husband, Zach ’97, ’00, have two daughters, Gabrielle, a K-State senior, and Grace. They live in Topeka, Kansas.