River Discovery Center Welcomes New Executive Director

Lindsey Launius credits her two young sons for getting her excited about the River Discovery Center, where she is the new executive director.

Lincoln, 9, and Wrigley, 8, took a field trip to the Paducah, Ky., museum during a summer day camp with the Paducah Parks Department. They came back with mussel shells with holes punched in them and told her about how mother of pearl buttons used to be made from them. Then, they insisted on going back, this time with their parents in tow.

When Launius learned about the opening for a new director, she kept their excitement in mind and thought about how her own professional background and leadership experience could shape the museum’s next chapter.

“I wanted to be a part of something that my kids could be proud of, that I could be proud of and that could be impactful for the community,” she said.

Launius and her husband, Jason, moved from Louisiana to Paducah in May 2024 so that he could work in tree management with the Shawnee National Forest. Both had spent part of their college years at nearby Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.

While Launius never imagined a career as a museum director, she said it was like all her career experiences up to this point made her the perfect fit.

Launius has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in professional media practices. She worked as a reporter and producer in Iowa, Portsmouth, Va., and then Milwaukee, Wis., before moving to Alexandria, La., where she worked for the Central Louisiana Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Most recently, Launius spent nearly 10 years at Crest Industries, a holding company for several different businesses, primarily involved in electric power delivery. During her time there she was involved in rebranding multiple companies, launched various service lines and played a major role in communication, marketing, branding and business development. In every role, she held leadership and supervisory responsibilities, managing teams and initiatives that required collaboration and vision.

With that background, “I know I can contribute to the River Discovery Center’s growth and impact,” she said.

Among her priorities at the museum is to install new exhibits in the spaces where older, nonfunctional ones were removed. She hopes to design these new displays to be interactive and engaging but with updated content that helps raise awareness of river industry careers. She also wants to work more on museum programming, including opportunities with the school system.

Continuing the interactive nature of the museum, which includes a boat piloting simulator that is popular with guests, is important, Launius said. She mentioned that the museum recently received some virtual reality headsets with plans to use the technology to create more experiences that immerse visitors in life on the river and highlight river industry.

Launius worked alongside former longtime museum director Julie Harris for a few weeks before moving into the role. She has met with board members and the Paducah Propeller Club and is working on meeting with as many members of the towboat and barge industry as she can.

“I want to have a better understanding of what their needs are,” she said.

Launius also sees herself as a partner with the industry in recruiting the next generation of inland mariners. She said she already knows how caring the community is and how it appreciates its history. She said she wants to spend time working collaboratively with those in the industry, focusing on the question of, “What stories can we be telling to bring overall awareness?”