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Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime is the new executive director for SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity.
Photo courtesy of Jacob Carroll
Sacramento’s Museum of Science and Curiosity is betting on a museum leader who transformed a former Ku Klux Klan building in Texas into a center for arts and history.
MOSAC has hired Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime as its next executive director, with hopes that he will lead the museum into its next chapter when he takes over on October 1, 2026.
The riverfront museum, which opened in 2021 that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education for families, has been working to build attendance and awareness since opening during the pandemic.
Gonzalez-Jaime becomes the next executive director following a nationwide search that saw 55 candidates, according to MOSAC’s Board President Steve Hansen.
“We had a very strong candidate pool, and Carlos was the number one candidate,” Hansen said. “He just blew us away with his expertise around not just the museum world, but working with communities and stakeholders, and I think it helps that he has a great persona too.”
Hansen said he’s excited to have Gonzalez-Jaime’s expertise coming to Sacramento. He mentioned that MOSAC started during the pandemic and there are still a lot of people who don’t understand what the science museum is.
“To have an executive director who can go out and spend time with the community and build those relationships and be a really dynamic face for MOSAC, it’s a dream for us,” he said. “Carlos is that person.”
Gonzalez-Jaime was born in Monterey, Mexico, and over the years transitioned from the auto and tech industries to nonprofit work.
Since 2022, he has served as the inaugural director of Transform 1012 Main Street in Fort Worth, Texas, which is the building formerly occupied by the KKK.
“It’s a social justice project,” he said. “We are repurposing an old building, a building with a terrible past, but repurposing that structure to do good is something that is great.”
Gonzalez-Jaime has worked with several nonprofit organizations and has also served as a consultant at the Children’s Museum in Mexico – Papalote Museo del Niño, one of the largest children’s museums in Latin America.
At MOSAC, he aims to conduct a 100-day “listening tour” to learn more about the staff, partners, and the community.
“The goal is having 100 conversations in 100 days, and really learning about what’s the institution for the dedicated team,” he said. “I have a lot of ideas, but I think the first thing that you need to do is to learn about your institution, about your team, and about your communities before making any decision.”
Although Gonzalez-Jaime is set to begin on the first of October, MOSAC will formally welcome him during a celebratory VIP President’s Reception for museum donors on November 13, 2026.
“It’s a big honor to be leading such a beloved institution in Sacramento, and I’m looking forward to meeting my community,” Gonzalez-Jaime said.
Editor’s Note: MOSAC is a financial supporter of CapRadio.
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Communities Reporter
Keyshawn Davis is a communities reporter at CapRadio and proud born-and-raised Sacramentan. Read Full Bio
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