Discovery Museum Welcomes Herbert Mason and William R. Huss, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors
Acton, MA – Discovery Museum is pleased to welcome Herbert Mason and William Huss to its Board of Directors.
Herbert Mason serves as Vice President, Talent Development & Training Manager at Reading Cooperative Bank, where he leads the institution’s talent development strategies. Prior to joining Reading Bank in 2022, Herbert served as Vice President, Training & Development Manager at Middlesex Savings Bank, where he worked for ten years, and before that held various roles at Bank of America, where he worked for 12 years.
Herbert holds a B.S. in Business, an A.B. in Criminal Justice, and a Human Resource Management Certification from University of Phoenix; he is also an alumnus of The New England School of Financial Studies at Babson College. He has earned certifications in Learning Program Management and Integrated Talent Management from the Association of Talent Development. Herbert is also a Certified Emotional Intelligence Instructor.
Prior to joining the Board of Directors at the Discovery Museum, Herbert served on its People Task Force, supporting the Museum’s staff and leadership team.
Outside of his professional life, Herbert enjoys painting, gardening, and spending quality time outdoors with his family. He resides in Pepperell with his family.
William R. Huss, Ph.D., has been a member of the Business Analytics Faculty at Babson College since 2004, where he teaches numerous undergraduate and graduate courses in business analytics, statistics, operations, entrepreneurialism and green management consulting. Prior to joining the faculty at Babson, Bill was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Xenergy Consulting (later KEMA, Inc.) where he managed all operations for a 400-person management consulting, energy efficiency, and energy services company that served most of the largest electric utilities in North America. Prior to Xenergy, Bill held roles at Battelle and General Electric Company.
Through the Executive Service Corps of New England, Bill has led consulting projects for nonprofit clients including the Emerald Necklace, Back Bay Association, Esplanade Association, City Strings United, Earth Watch, Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, Seaport Transportation Authority, Healing Garden (Harvard MA), Rhode Island Library Association, Roche Jones Duff House Museum (New Bedford MA), Newton Historical Museum, Cambridge Library, May Institute, CLASS (Arc), ARC of Massachusetts, Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust, Mystic River State Reservation, Cans for Charity, Brookline Conservation Land Trust, MassRecycle, Unitarian Universalist Service Association, and the Unitarian Church of Needham.
In addition to serving on the board of Discovery Museum, Bill serves on the boards of City Strings United (Roxbury MA), the Law Reed Huss Farm Foundation (board chair), and the Dennison Depot Rail Museum (Dennison OH). He is also a member of the Lincoln Agricultural Commission and the Wayland Energy and Climate Committee. Bill is president of the Lieutenant Island Association (Wellfleet MA). He is the former Board Chair of the Executive Service Corps of New England and current member of the Finance Committee.
Bill holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and Business Analytics from The Ohio State University; a M.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a M.A. in Public Administration, both from The Ohio State University; and a B.A. Summa Cum Laude in Mathematics and Physics from Gettysburg College.
“Bill and Herbert bring important perspectives and experience to our Board as we work to steer the organization through implementation of Discovery Museum’s 2025 – 2027 Strategic Plan,” said Board President Xuan Kong. “We are happy to welcome them the Museum community.”
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About Discovery Museum
Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum for families that blends science, nature, and play. The museum and its Discovery Woods accessible outdoor nature playscape and giant treehouse blend the best of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning on a beautiful 4.5-acre campus abutting 180 acres of conservation land in Acton, MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. Originally founded in 1982 and expanded to two museums in 1987, the museum reopened in a single, 16,000sf accessible building after a complete renovation and expansion in early 2018. Hands-on, open-ended exhibits developed by professional educators inspire curiosity and exploration, providing a fun and engaging experience for children and adults to discover their world together. Serving families and schools from towns throughout the region, the museum is devoted to informal education that enhances classroom learning. Discovery Museum is committed to accessibility and is a proud recipient of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the only winner in the Access category, and a LEAD® Community Asset Award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In 2024 Discovery Museum was awarded a National Medal for Museum Service from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the nation’s highest honor awarded to museums that make “significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.” Discovery Museum is a community-supported non-profit organization.
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