Ellen M. Owens
Ellen M. Owens
Professional info
Ellen Owens creates meaningful cultural experiences through making, curating, teaching about art and history. As an arts leader, she facilitates community-building, collaboration, and continuous dialogue among diverse groups.
Recent work experience
· Instruct mandatory graduate Museum Education course, “Museum Practicum,” a class that acquaints students
with museum learning and interpretive strategies
· Introduce students to educational literature, local cultural resources, and diverse Philadelphia museums
· Assess numerous written assignments, oral communications, and multi-faceted final projects
· Host annual critiques of student work by area professionals and faculty
RESULTS:
-Contribute in visioning sessions to reshape Museum Studies curriculum and courses
-Develop lasting mentorships: steered or chaired multiple thesis review committees
-Collaborate with faculty to create cohesion amongst courses; leverage connections with local museum leaders
Lecturer, University of the Arts
2012 - present
Philadelphia, PA
Community/Volunteerism
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President, Emerging Arts Leaders: Philadelphia 12/15- present
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Board Member, Arts & Business Council of Philadelphia 9/12-present
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Vice-President/Membership Chair of Museum Council of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley 3/09-present
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Co-founder & curator, HomeSkooled Arts Gallery, 1/09-12
Honors & Awards
PRESENTATIONS
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Co-presenter: Moore College of Art Leadership Conference 10/13
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Solo presenter at Small Museums Association Conference 2/11-13
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Panel presenter at Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums conference 4/08
AWARDS
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Highest Academic Achievement Award, University of the Arts 2006
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Graduate Assistantship Award, University of the Arts 2005-06
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Graduate Fellows Award, University of the Arts 2005-06
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Golden Key National Honor Society Scholar 2001-04
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Schreyer Honors College Scholar,
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Dean’s List 11/12 semesters, Pennsylvania State University 2000-04
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Alice Swartz-Mattil Award, Art Education (faculty-nominated award), Pennsylvania State University 2003
2010 - present
2010 - present
Executive Director, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
2009 - 2014
Manager of Education & Outreach, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
2009
Philadelphia, PA
· Oversaw all high-level decisions and mission fulfillment of the museum, community center, and gallery
· Grew Board of Directors, developed strategies for organizational growth through strategic planning
· Wrote grant proposals, organized campaigns/fundraisers, solicited donors, managed grant funds
· Hired and dismissed staff, administered performance reviews, developed HR policies
· Managed, balanced, and projected budgets; analyzed and controlled finances
· Oversaw all marketing, advertising, and public relations to garner local, regional, and international press
· Created and facilitated key public events, programs, and public representation of organization
· Built partnerships with other local and regional organizations including schools, businesses, and cultural groups
· Began first conservation efforts and protocols to protect permanent art installation
· Curated gallery exhibitions, created interpretive text, directed design
· Created and led tours of installations, public mural sites, and artist studio for all ages and special groups
· Created/designed the first interdisciplinary educational activities for gallery, classroom, and online use
· Managed interpretive staff, volunteers, and graduate-level museum education and exhibition internships
RESULTS
-Created/monitored 3-year strategic plans and succession planning; grew from staff of 6 to 16
-Tripled organizational operating budget, created financial reserves and year-end revenue surpluses, ended deficit
-Raised development income by 98%, attracted first ongoing corporate sponsor and peer-reviewed awards,
hosted sell-out fundraisers, garnered prestigious grant funds for board governance and conservation
-Grew ongoing collaborations with local businesses, Thomas Jefferson Hospital, social service groups, and more
-Showcased works by notable local, national, and international artists and community groups
-Led tours for First Lady Michele Obama and her children, Mayor Michael Nutter, and the French Parliament
· Provided direction for Museum’s interpretive and education initiatives
· Organized and oversaw all of the Museum’s K-12 education, community, and adult education initiatives
such as hands-on workshops, tours, film series, and speaker programs
· Organized and facilitated large-scale public events, scheduled presenters
· Project-managed resident artists for large-scale public artworks and outreach based on the collection
· Developed and monitored budgets for education/public programs, tallied daily museum profits
· Assisted with grant writing and donor cultivation
· Supervised guide staff of 15+: trained, hired, scheduled, administered reviews, managed payroll, etc.
· Created and managed Volunteer Coordinator position and 20+ volunteers
· Led tours of collections, historic sites, and artist residency projects for all ages
· Developed evaluations, marketing, and documentation of programs
· Opened/closed museum, set security alarms, performed object inventory, scheduled gallery maintenance
· Created/designed educational activities for gallery, classroom, outreach, and online use; ran programs
RESULTS
-Developed walking tour interpretation for artist piece in Independence Historic Park with National Park Service
-Designed, oversaw, and implemented 7days of educational programs along 112 miles of the Schuylkill River
with the Schuylkill River Sojourn
-Facilitated key partnerships with local art, history, and science organizations
-Published “Women of the APS, Vol. 2,” a set of biographies and portraits by students
-Built and established successful core family programs
Manager of Education, American Philosophical Society Museum
2007 - 2009
M.A. in Museum Education,
GPA: 3.84/4.0
Certificate, Designing Leadership Program
University of the Arts
2005-2006
Philadelphia, PA
Bryn Mawr College
2013
Bryn Mawr, PA
Education
Pennsylvania State University
2000-2004
University Park, PA
B.S. in Art Education with emphasis in Museum and Cultural Institutions
B.F.A. with emphasis in Painting and Drawing
Schreyers Honors College Thesis UnderSkin: Intimate Organics
GPA: 3.87/4.0; in Majors: 3.88/4.0
Merle-Smith Director of Learning Programs, Penn Museum,
(University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology)
2014 - present
Philadelphia, PA
· Provide strategic guidance for major museum decisions as part of the Executive Leadership team
· Provide vision and direction for interpretive and education initiatives, including new permanent galleries
· Oversee Museum’s K-12 education, adult groups, and accessibility initiatives such as workshops, tours, speakers
· Manage, balance, control, and project multiple department budgets
· Supervise and mentor 11 full-time staff/educators; oversee department with 60 volunteers, multiple interns
· Oversee Unpacking the Past, a 2.2 million dollar education program for ~10,000 local middle school students
· Communicate and collaborate with all museum departments and key University schools/centers
· Partner with Development Department to author grants and cultivate donors
· Partner with schools, libraries, and educational agencies for collaborative programs and ongoing partnerships
· Liaise with administrators, teachers, policy-makers, to grow and evaluate programs
· Promote educational programs in cooperation with Marketing and Public Relations
· Build and develop Group Sales Department, technology-based programs, and adult group offerings
· Create and host a 4-week full-time Museum Studies course for Chinese undergraduates from Jiangsu Province
RESULTS:
-Execute a significant pillar of the Museum’s strategic plan and the University’s directives involving
public education programs for local, national, and global audiences
-Host annual 600+ international student event with local dignitaries and mayor
-Grew K-12 attendance 28% and grew Group Sales revenue (new department) 16% since 2015
-Created and oversee new committee providing varied professional development opportunities for staff
-Created critical partnerships with key UPenn schools such as Graduate School of Education and Penn Global
Wharton School of Business, IBM, Arts & Business Council of Philadelphia
2015
Philadelphia, PA
Certificate, Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute