Frehner Museum Staff
Jacqualine Grant
Museum Director
Jacqualine Grant has directed the museum since its opening in 2012. Dr. Grant is faculty in the Department of Biology where she teaches introductory biology, environmental biology, genetics, conservation biology, mammalogy, and fungal biology. She encourages experiential education in her classes. She brings a global perspective to the museum and her students through her service to the Society for Conservation Biology as Vice President for Education and Outreach. She enjoys the amazing scenery of southern Utah, and competing in arm wrestling and swimming at the Utah Summer Games.
Ashlee Patacsil-Hardin
Chief Museum Assistant
A senior from Blythe, California, Ashlee is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry in hopes of becoming an Entomologist. She loves helping run the museum and teaching kids new things. When she has free time, Ashlee enjoys reading, playing piano, and hanging out with family and friends.
Elise Anderson
Museum Assistant
Elise is a second year student from Cedar City, who enjoys reading and art. She is pursuing her degree in illustration with the hopes to become a comic artist. Her favorite thing about the museum is the inspiration it gives for her art
Emma Donahoe
Museum Assistant
Emma is a newcomer from Hemet, California. After living there for eighteen years, she moved here as a freshman at Southern Utah University. She is pursuing a bachelors in Psychology with a minor in Family Services. After she earns her master's degree, she plans on being a therapist for adolescents. In her free time, Emma loves spending time with friends and families, playing board games, watching movies or tv shows, and painting.
Olivia Fairbanks
Museum Assistant
Olivia is from Tooele, Utah. She is currently a freshman pursuing a bachelors degree, though she’s not quite sure what she wants that degree to be in yet. In her free time Olivia loves to be doing anything outdoors, listening to music, or spending time with friends and family.
Allison Hunt
Museum Assistant
Cheyenne Mitchell
Museum Assistant
Cheyenne is a senior studying Outdoor Recreation in Parks and Tourism with an emphasis in Education and minors in Biology, Geology, and Sustainability Studies. She loves sharing fun facts about rocks, plants, and bats! She has worked in Zion National Park as an educator for children and adults to find what makes them excited about the natural world around them - her dream job!
She believes that "through interpretation, understanding; through understanding, appreciation; through appreciation, protection." - Freeman Tilden.
Catherine Valeo
Museum Assistant
Catherine is a fourth year student at SUU studying biology, with the hope that she'll be able to pursue a career in Marine Biology in the future. She has been interested in science since eighth grade when she built her first bottle rocket, and found her passion for biology and the environment soon after. In her free time she enjoys baking, going to the gym, and when she can, surfing and scuba diving.
Christian White
Museum Assistant
Christian White is a senior at Southern Utah University. He is majoring in Psychology with an emphasis in Pre-Medicine. After graduation he hopes to attend the University of Utah School of Medicine to pursue a career in neurology. When he's not at the museum or doing school work you can find him outdoors. He loves to hike, rock climb, backpack, camp, fish, and hunt.
Previous Staff
Lola Taylor
Assistant Museum Director
Lola Taylor is currently in the MFA in Arts Administration program at SUU. Her background is in theatre and dance, so working at the Frehner Museum has been an exciting and educational experience. She was born in Arizona, but has lived in Utah for most of her life. When she has free time, Lola enjoys singing, dancing, acting, swimming, reading, playing games with friends, and attending SUU sporting events. She loves working at the museum and immersing herself in the heritage and history of southern Utah. The silver fox, Canada Lynx, and dragonfly fossil are some of her favorite pieces in the museum.
Debora Cruz
Museum Assistant
Debora Cruz is originally from Southern California, but has lived in Utah for about 10 years. She has an incredibly energetic lifestyle and loves rocking climbing, archery, Mixed Martial Arts, and especially soccer. As a future anthropologist, Debora is entering a field that is just as active and educating as her everyday life. She thoroughly enjoys learning about the world around her and searching for answers to the life's frequently asked questions. Debora has learned so much about anthropology and other physical sciences while working at the museum.
Ryker Minks
Museum Assistant
Ryker is a sophomore from Honolulu, Hawai'i. He is majoring in History with a minor in Anthropology. When he grows up, he would like to be Indiana Jones. His favorite things in the museum are the fossils on the Jurassic Period shelf, especially the dragonfly. In his spare time, Ryker enjoys reading science fiction novels, cooking, target shooting, and researching topics that will never be useful on Wikipedia.
Mallory Petersen
Museum Assistant
Mallory Petersen is currently starring in her own reality television show called, "The Art Major and the Studio: Forever Inseparable." She is always in search of sleep, mac and cheese, and Hogwarts! Mallory feels she belongs in a different decade because of her love for wearing vintage and retro clothes she purchases from good ol' Deseret Industries. Her aspiration in life is to love something as much as women in commercials love yogurt. Oh, and she loves working at the museum!
Moriah Guy
Museum Assistant
Moriah Guy worked at the museum with Dr. Grant when it opened in Spring of 2012. She graduated with a degree in Zoology in December 2014. Moriah loved helping with the bi-annual teaching programs at the museum, as well as databasing and displaying the museum’s shell collection. After graduation, she worked at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, CA. Moriah's photograph is of her feeding one of the San Diego Zoo giraffes. Moriah presently works at a pharmaceutical company in San Diego.
Delaney Peterson
Assistant Museum Director
Delaney Patterson worked at the museum from 2012-2015, and is currently in the MFA in Arts Administration program at SUU. In her free time, she is usually with her family and friends playing games, creating art, cooking, hiking, or watching sitcoms. Her favorite museum objects include the Silver fox, the Heyborne amethyst, and the Fremont bowl.
Lauren Hardin
Chief Museum Assistant
Lauren Hardin worked at the museum from 2017-2020, and is currently an eighth grade math teacher. When she has free time, Lauren enjoys reading, exploring, and hanging out with family and friends.