Years in Museum Field: 7
Degrees/Certificates: Master of the Arts in Museum Education (University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA)
Bachelor of the Arts in Cultural Anthropology (Rutgers the State University of NJ, New Brunswick, NJ)
Current Occupation: Grow Up Great Coordinator at the Barnes Foundation
Previous Museum Experience: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rutgers Geology Museum
Other Relevant Work Experience: Co-Head Teacher at the Goddard School
How does your current position fit into your career plan? My career plan was to be an integral part of a Education Department. At first I didn’t know where I would fit in but my internship at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and my teaching experience helped me to find my niche in the early childhood field. I am currently a part of a small yet growing education department at the Barnes Foundation and am coordinating the start of a new early childhood programming initiative. Engaging even the youngest visitors is important to not only the organization but also to the community and I’m excited to be apart of that.
What museum organizations do you belong to? Museum Council of Philadelphia (Marketing Committee)
Philadelphia Visitor Experience Conference (Board Member)
American Alliance of Museums (AAM)
Non-Museum but just as important to my career:
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you began in this profession? The work you do is sometimes your greatest reward and not the money.
What do you enjoy most about your position? The at need schools and students that I work with make my job worth it. Seeing the children and teachers excited to learn really helps me to see how important my job is in the city and how I can not only just visit schools, but I can enhance the learning experience for each child I meet in class.
What is it that keeps you engaged at work? The classes and teachers that we are influencing through the program keep me engaged. It’s great to provide things that they wouldn’t normally receive. Especially working with a school district that had to make cuts in art programming, among other things, its good to know my program can give something free and art enriching to low income public schools.
Tiffany Allen has a bachelors in cultural anthropology and as was looking for jobs. Tiffany noticed that a lot of jobs that she was semi-qualified for asked for a Masters degree in Museum Education. Tiffany thought it would be a great career path not only for her love of museums but also for her love of teaching. Tiffany’s favorite museums outside of Philly are the Hirshorn and the Natural History Museum in Washington DC.
Fun Fact: Tiffany was an actress for over 10 years and was in a print ad for Bell South and a local Sneaker Stadium commercial as well as many high school and community college stage plays. Her favorite role was the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.
Philadelphia Emerging Museum Professionals 