Who:
Myah Moore Irick
What She supports:
Kamin Science Center summer camps
Why it matters:
“STEM is the language of our future economy.”
The Hawaiian island of O‘ahu is often pictured as paradise, and for Myah Moore Irick it was also the foundation for a journey defined by curiosity, determination, and a passion for learning.
Raised in a more rural part of the island, Irick grew up surrounded by natural beauty and a close-knit community. While opportunities to visit museums, travel widely, or access cultural institutions were limited, those experiences helped spark a desire to explore the world beyond her hometown.
That opportunity came at age 17, when she left Hawaii to attend college in Portland, Oregon. The move opened new doors and broadened her perspective, setting her on a path of lifelong learning and achievement. Since then, Irick has traveled extensively, earned advanced degrees from prestigious institutions including Columbia University and Brown University, and obtained her financial planning certification through Northwestern University. She also founded The Irick Group, part of Merrill Private Wealth Management, where she is senior vice president and private wealth advisor based in Pittsburgh.
Looking back, Irick credits her upbringing with helping shape the perspective, work ethic, and appreciation for opportunity that continue to guide her today. Now, she reflects on the educational opportunities available to her own three children, and how they’ll be shaped by access to the city’s museums and cultural institutions. And she wants other youth in Pittsburgh to have access to them, too.
“It’s really deepened my commitment to institutions like the Kamin Science Center, and Carnegie Museums as a whole,” she says.
Since moving to Pittsburgh in 2019, Irick has become increasingly involved as a philanthropic leader in the city, and particularly with Carnegie Museums.
Irick serves on the board of Kamin Science Center and established an endowment with her husband to support scholarships for underserved youth to attend Science Center summer camps. She is also a co-chair of Carnegie Museums’ ALL TOGETHER comprehensive campaign, which will raise funds to enhance museum operations, exhibitions and educational programming, and collaborations and strategic partnerships that amplify their reach on the local, national, and global stages.
Irick is particularly keen to provide more STEM-education opportunities for local youth.
“I feel like STEM is the language of our future economy,” she says. “We talk a lot about artificial intelligence, but we also have to think much more broadly about that. Many underserved communities are excluded from the conversation. When that happens and we cut out an entire portion of our population, we slow our collective growth and we miss out on unique skills and perspectives.”
Irick recalls developing science fair projects as a kid, most of them inspired by her own experiences. She grew up with asthma and didn’t have access to quality health services, so many of her projects were around respiratory issues.
She wonders what topics she might have explored were there a science center to inspire her.
“I always came up with my own projects,” she explains. “But I can only imagine that if I had access to the Science Center or more science educators what that would look like.”
Even as an adult, Irick takes inspiration from the Science Center, whether revisiting a longtime personal favorite—the historic Miniature Railroad & Village® —or learning STEM concepts at the newly opened Science of Speed. She’s impressed by the Science Center’s exhibits and programming for visitors of all ages, and it’s become a regular destination for her entire family.
Irick enjoys watching her kids’ worlds open wider with each visit. And she wants as many youth to experience that as well. It is, she believes, essential for creating a richer, more equitable, and more sustainable world.
“These are their futures,” she says. “What is the kind of world that I want them to live in? What will they inherit?”
Learn more about how you can support your museums through the ALL TOGETHER campaign.
