Former ‘Bachelor’ contestant has a playful new gig — CEO of a California children’s museum
When Chelsie Webster was hired to be the inaugural CEO of the soon-to-open Modesto Children’s Museum, she brought with her a wealth of experience in science education and international marketing.
She also came with one unique resume addition: former contestant on “The Bachelor.”
The 33-year-old Ohio native moved late last month from her home state to California to begin her work as the new leader for the community-developed nonprofit museum in downtown Modesto.
Before taking on the new role, Webster had worked during the pandemic as a social media lead for the international clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch. Before that, she spent almost eight years at Ohio’s Center of Science and Industry, which since its founding in 1964 has been one of the leading educational outreach museums in the country. She served as its director of education strategic initiatives and director of education programs.
A graduate of Ohio State University, Webster has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in early childhood education.
And then there was her time on the long-running reality dating competition. Webster appeared on “The Bachelor” franchise’s 18th season. She said her time on national television taught her valuable lessons that remain applicable to her work today.
“It was a really, really big, big lesson in communicating what I think effectively and honestly,” she said. “And I think it’s really helped me understand being a visible figure and how I represent myself both in the public and private sphere.”
The Modesto museum is under construction on 11th Street in the former longtime Fat Cat Music House & Lounge space, with the aim of a summer opening.
With Webster on board, organizers will be able to solidify plans past opening day. The day-to-day operation of the center will include daily visits, membership enrollment, classes, events, outreach and other programming. Webster said she is inspired by the museum’s development, championed and organized by community members, and excited to help create something new for the Central Valley.
“What really hooked me from the get-go was the grassroots efforts; it felt really like a movement from within the community,” she said. “We want to create world-class operations, world-class staffing from the first day it opens. It’s the opportunity that comes with a blank slate.”
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Once the interior renovations are complete, the museum’s interactive exhibits will be installed. Those pieces are being fabricated off-site by internationally renowned exhibit makers Kubik Maltbie and Boss Display and should be done in the spring.
The center’s recent announcement of $9 million in donations means its capital campaign is fully funded and ongoing fundraising will go toward operations and programming. It expects to hire a full- and part-time staff of about 20, as well as have volunteer staffing.
Webster was selected out of 70 applicants in a nationwide search. Modesto Children’s Museum Board President Katie Barber said the museum was looking for a CEO with a strong leadership track record who was forward-thinking and focused on community engagement, financial management and experimental learning.
And while it may seem that Webster’s experience on the televised dating show might not factor into her role as a children’s museum chief executive, Barber said that kind of high-profile media experience only enhances what she brings to the position.
“Media experience in a CEO position is crucial. Since our founding, our team has provided numerous on-camera interviews, and we expect to be working closely with many media outlets for years to come,” Barber said. “(H)er media experience is just the icing on the cake — Chelsie’s leadership and ingenuity in the field of early childhood education, her passion for young learners and her enthusiasm for MoChiMu have been unmatched since our first meeting.”
Webster’s “Bachelor” days came almost a decade ago. She joined the popular reality franchise in 2014, at age 24, as one of 27 single women vying to fall in love with the titular bachelor in the series’s name. Her season featured former Venezuelan professional soccer player Juan Pablo Galavis.
Launched in 2002, the dating show has one “Bachelor” or “Bachelorette” each season who must pick between a large field of eligible romantic partners, and ends with that person giving their “Final Rose” to his or her choice followed usually by an on-screen proposal.
Webster went far on her season, making it through seven weeks of the 10-week season and ending up fifth overall.
The following year, she appeared on the second season of the “Bachelor”/”Bachelorette” spinoff series “Bachelor in Paradise,” where eliminated contestants from previous seasons stay on a Mexican beach resort and date each other in an attempt to be the last couple standing. She was briefly on the series, joining on its fifth week and leaving that same week.
But, through it all, Webster has been an educator at heart. She even brought it into her time on “The Bachelor,” introducing herself to Galavis with a science experiment and a pun about “chemistry.”
Almost a decade later, Webster said she doesn’t get recognized from the show as much as she gets the “you look familiar” and “did we go to high school together” questions. She called her time with the franchise a “roller coaster” but also “really, really wonderful opportunity” to see the world. Her season filmed in South Korea, Vietnam and New Zealand, among other picturesque locales.
“The show itself allowed me to be really thoughtful about how I communicate with others and what experiences I decide to let impact me or not,” she said. “(It gave me) humility and understanding that how you act in the world matters. And there’s no better way to learn that than to be in front of 10 million people on television.”
While she isn’t connected with the series currently, Webster said the recent announcement about her appointment in Modesto saw some of her franchise castmates reach out with congratulations.
And, for those wondering, Webster has found love. She got married last fall and her new husband, who works in logistics for a major healthcare company, has moved with her to Modesto.
So while she enjoyed her time in the limelight, Webster said those days are very much in the past.
“It was a fun time, but it was almost a decade ago and it feels like talking about when I swam in high school. Like, oh yeah, I did that,” she said.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Former ‘Bachelor’ contestant has a playful new gig — CEO of a California children’s museum."
