Recruited by Thanksgiving Point to inform the design the Museum of Natural Curiosity, opened in 2014, Lorie brought over 20 years of program design and educational expertise to bear on this fully interactive family-focused science, exploration, and art museum. She was then asked to create and lead the Institute's first Education Department, growing it from 8 to 75 Education Explorers in less than 2 years and increasing programming earned revenue by 85% in its first year. During this time, she oversaw the development of 2 statewide science outreach programs, visiting every elementary and middle school in Utah and garnering $750,000 (initially) in ongoing legislative support. Her team's focus was on building outreach partnerships with diverse and often marginalized segments of the community.

Lorie oversaw exhibit and programming development, audience research, volunteers, science and collections, and multiple teams with 7-figure budgets. She led the design and construction of Butterfly Biosphere, opened in 2019, employing the creative skills of an entire elementary school to create kid-focused and meaningful exhibits for diverse families. Lorie led nationally recognized research and publications on the social impacts of museum visitation, and worked tirelessly to cultivate and initiate inclusion, equity, diversity, and access efforts.

Community Service Award, Student and Family Programs

Utah Association of Gifted Children, 2019

True Inspiration, Emerging Leaders Youth Development Program

Chick-Fil-A, 2018

Business and Education Partnership Award, K-12 Field Trip Programs

Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, 2016

Engaged to develop the museum’s statewide outreach program, Lorie grew it into a highly regarded model (still in use), garnering $500,000 (initially) in ongoing legislative funding. Here, she innovated new approaches to education centering the learner instead of the content, developed kits for checkout to bring authentic specimens and artifacts to Utah classrooms, and applied the same approaches to teacher professional development, taking them out of the classroom and involving them in real world science.

Lorie's collaborative nature and community-building acumen allowed her to build bridges between departments. She volunteered herself and her education team as field research assistants, building trusting relationships over time that resulted in curators and collections managers fully involved in educational efforts, coming out of the lab to visit classrooms throughout the state, conducting teacher trainings in the field, and providing specimens and artifacts for educational use.

During this time, Lorie also served as Primary Investigator for an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to train and develop resources for scientists to help them work with children and public audiences. This work was recognized beyond the museum and Lorie was asked to help write and administer a multi-year, multi-million dollar National Science Foundation GK-12 grant with the University of Utah's Department of Geology and Geophysics and the Salt Lake City School District. As Interim Program Manager and member of the steering committee, she led graduate research seminars to train these scientists to engage K-12 students.

The partnerships she developed as a result of that work led to an invitation to design a Museum Science and Outdoor Explorations elective course for Salt Lake City School District's new charter school, The Salt Lake Center for Science Education. In a culmination of the approaches she innovated, the relationships developed, and experience gained, Lorie's course was student-led and supported by scientists and museum professionals as facilitators for students' research.

As the museum looked forward to a new location, they recognized the need to develop immersive and curiosity-provoking spaces in their new home, opened 2011. To that end, Lorie led the design of the children’s gallery, “Our Backyard” and the 3 gallery-embedded Learning Labs involving visitors to those spaces in their own playful research.

Utah Environmental Education Program of the Year

Utah Society for Environmental Education, 2010 & 2012 Nominee

Environmental Educator of the Year

Utah Society for Environmental Education, 2010 Nominee

Best of State — Educational Services

Best of State, 2008 Nominee