Royal Ontario Museum

Ontario Sunshine List 2025 · 200 employees earning $100K+

Crown Agencies

At a Glance
2025

Employee Count

200

2025 Sunshine List

Total Compensation

$27.2M

Salaries + taxable benefits

Average Salary

$135,611

2025 Sunshine List

Median Salary

$117,784

Half earn more, half less

Who makes the most at Royal Ontario Museum in 2025?

Joshua Basseches, Director and Chief Executive Officer/Directeur général, was paid $522,690 in 2025 — the highest total compensation among 200 Royal Ontario Museum employees on the Sunshine List; the median salary there was $117,784.

How has Royal Ontario Museum's Sunshine List changed?

Royal Ontario Museum listed 4 people in 1996 and 200 in 2025 — 50× as many; payroll on the list went from $509K to $27.2M, and the median salary moved from $120,582 to $117,784.

How many Royal Ontario Museum employees earn over $150,000? →

Salary Trend

Median salary by yearLine chart of 29 yearly values of median salary, from $120,582 in 1996 to $117,784 in 2025. No data for 2001.$100K$110K$120K$130K$140K$150K199620022008201320192025
Median salary, 1996–2025. Axis starts at $100,000, the Sunshine List disclosure threshold. That threshold has never been indexed to inflation, so this line can fall over time simply because more people newly cross it — not necessarily because pay fell.

Top Employees
2025

#1Joshua Basseches
$522,690
Director and Chief Executive Officer/Directeur général
#2Valerie Huaco
$322,955
Deputy Director, Collections and Research and Chief Innovation Officer / Sous-directrice des collections et de la recherche, et directrice de l'innovation
#3Joe Aschaiek
$311,888
Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer/ Sous-directeur et directeur financier
#4Jennifer Wild
$311,888
Deputy Director, Engagement /Sous-directrice, Engagement des publics
#5Deepali Dewan
$258,407
Dan Mishra Curator and Head, Art and Culture/Cheffe et conservatrice Dan Mishra, Art et culture
#6Shyam Oberoi
$250,638
Chief Digital Officer/Directeur de la stratégie numérique
#7Kim Tait
$239,543
Teck Chair of Mineralogy and Head, Natural History/Titulaire de la chaire Teck en minéralogie et directrice, Histoire naturelle
#8Chen Shen
$228,178
Co-Chief Curator, Art and Culture/Co-conservateur en chef, Art et culture
#9Manuelita Cherizard
$224,831
Chief Human Resources Officer/ Cheffe des ressources humaines
#10Alexis Easton
$224,831
Chief of Public Affairs, Board Secretary and Privacy Officer/ Cheffe des affaires publiques, secrétaire du conseil d'administration et responsable de la confidentialité
#11Brian Mccrady
$224,831
Chief Facilities Officer/Directeur des installations
#12Sally Tindal
$224,831
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer/Directrice, Marketing et communications
#13David Evans
$218,168
Co-Chief Curator, Natural History/Co-conservateur en chef, Histoire naturelle
#14Justin Jennings
$218,001
Senior Curator, New World Archaelogy/Conservateur principal, Archéologie du Nouveau Monde
#15Jean-Bernard Caron
$217,811
Richard M Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology/Conservateur Richard M Ivey de paléontologie des invertébrés
#16Wen-Chien Cheng
$217,405
Senior Curator, Louise Hawley Stone/Conservatrice principale, Louise Hawley Stone
#17Sarah Fee
$216,753
Senior Curator, Textiles and Costume/Conservatrice principale, Textiles et costume
#18Yoke Chung
$216,416
Deputy Director, Museum Operations and Chief Operating Officer/Sous-directrice des opérations et cheffe de l'exploitation
#19Leela Outcalt
$200,531
Chief Collections Care/ Cheffe de l'entretien des collections
#20Tamara Onyschuk
$187,611
Assistant Vice President, Exhibition and Gallery Planning/ Vice-présidente adjointe, Planification des expositions et des galeries
#21Ascanio Odorico
$183,244
Vice President, Security and Risk Management/ Vice-président, securité et gestion des risques
#22Fahmida Suleman
$180,091
Senior Curator of Islamic World/ Conservatrice principale des arts et cultures du monde islamique
#23Christopher Kennedy
$180,029
Assistant Vice President, Event Sales/Vice-président adjoint, Événements
#24Maria Piacente
$178,844
Chief, Exhibition and Gallery Planning/Cheffe, Planification des expositions et des galeries
#25Douglas Currie
$178,046
Senior Curator, Entomology/Conservateur principal, Entomologie

See all 200 employees in 2025 →

Download CSV (2025) →Released by the Government of Ontario under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996. Compiled by SunshineList.

Biggest Year-over-Year Increases
2024 → 2025

Deepali Dewan at Royal Ontario Museum had the largest increase in disclosed pay on the 2025 Sunshine List: $186,331 to $258,054, up 38.5%.

Deepali Dewan+38.5%
Dan Mishra Curator and Head, Art and Culture/Cheffe et conservatrice Dan Mishra, Art et culture
$186,331 → $258,054
Justin Jennings+48.7%
Senior Curator, New World Archaelogy/Conservateur principal, Archéologie du Nouveau Monde
$146,331 → $217,648
Jean-Bernard Caron+48.6%
Richard M Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology/Conservateur Richard M Ivey de paléontologie des invertébrés
$146,331 → $217,458
Wen-Chien Cheng+48.3%
Senior Curator, Louise Hawley Stone/Conservatrice principale, Louise Hawley Stone
$146,331 → $217,052
Sarah Fee+47.9%
Senior Curator, Textiles and Costume/Conservatrice principale, Textiles et costume
$146,331 → $216,400

A year-over-year increase or decrease in disclosed pay can include overtime, a retroactive payment, a vacation payout or severance, not only a change in base pay, rate, or role — the Sunshine List discloses total salary paid that year, not a pay rate. This list is ranked by the dollar increase, not by the percentage shown.

129 people were new to Royal Ontario Museum's list in 2025; 7 who were on it in 2024 were not. See the full 2025 roster →

See all pay increases at Royal Ontario Museum →

By Year
full lists

Top Positions
2025 · 5 or more people