Karrie Berglund
President
Karrie Berglund began her planetarium career in 1996, doing planetarium shows with a StarLab system around Washington state for Seattle’s Pacific Science Center (PSC). She also oversaw PSC’s on site Willard Smith Planetarium for about a year before leaving to co-found Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc. in early 2003. She is Director of Education for Digitalis.
Karrie organized and hosted the first ever LIPS in August, 2011, which was held at Digitalis’s headquarters in Bremerton, Washington. This somewhat radical step was taken in order to fulfill a crucial need for professional development dedicated to interactive teaching rather than simple movie playback.
Because of her work with LIPS and LIPS-style events, Karrie was asked to lead the International Planetarium Society’s Vision 2020 task force team focused on professional development. She gladly accepted this challenge, and she formed a team with about 10 planetarium professionals around the world representing different dome types and settings. Karrie was made an IPS Fellow and a Fellow of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association in 2018.
Brian Koehler
Conference Liaison
brian.koehler@mysticseaport.org
Brian Koehler is the Associate Director of the Treworgy Planetarium at Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT (USA). Originally a member of the museum’s Education Department, after three years Brian took over leadership of the planetarium in 2013.
As part of a maritime history museum, the Treworgy Planetarium emphasizes the practical application of the stars, especially for navigation. Along with adding more traditional astronomy programs, during his tenure Brian has enhanced the planetarium’s shows with hands-on activities about seafaring and wayfinding.
Having learned so much from others during his early days in the field, Brian strives to give back to the planetarium community. He served for six years on the Executive Committee of the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society (MAPS), and is honored to have been selected to be an inaugural board member for LIPS.
Brian enjoyed hosting the 2014 LIPS Conference so much, he went on to host MAPS conferences at Mystic in 2018 and 2024. Since he enjoys creating opportunities for planetarians to connect, network, and share ideas, Brian’s role on the LIPS Board is that of Conference Liaison. He looks forward to working with LIPS hosts to continue the wonderful traditions of the Live Interactive Planetarium Symposium.
Julie Tome
Secretary
Julie has worked with various forms of portable planetarium for over 25 years, starting with a reverse-engineered projector at the Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory during her undergraduate days to the shiny Digitarium system at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Her planetarium work has all been live, interactive programming which she believes is the best way to share her passion for all things astronomy and science with folks of all ages. When she attended her first LIPS in 2018, she knew she had found her people.
Julie lives in Aurora, Ontario, Canada where she is the Lead Museum Educator at the Royal Ontario Museum and is a member of the advisory committee of Space Place Canada, a non-profit, multi-disciplinary group of professionals determined to bring an iconic 21st century public planetarium back to Toronto and support a virtual planetarium for Canada and the world.
Andy Kreyche
Board At-Large
Andy developed a solid background in hands-on astronomy outreach before ever working in planetariums. So when his planetarium career began, he integrated those core principles into his work.
With the advent of LIPS, he was thrilled to discover a kindred community. The LIPS conferences continue to be a yearly highlight, guiding his practice and improving his impact. Andy believes the LIPS philosophy is fundamentally about connection: with our audiences, each other, and the mysteries of the cosmos.
Andy lives in Santa Cruz, California, where he is active in his local chapter of DarkSky International. He works as a presenter at the Jean and E. Floyd Kvamme Planetarium at West Valley College in Saratoga, CA.
