Kimberly Vagner most recently served as director of the Gems and Minerals Center of Excellence at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. She also worked for the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and credits her start in the profession with volunteering in the mineral sciences department of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. She has a Masters Degree in Decorative Arts & Design from Parsons School of Design, and has a Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA.