Beyond Glass Cases is served by an external advisory committee composed of a diverse group of cultural heritage thought leaders.
Bill Adair, Senior Advisor to Beyond Glass Cases, is currently a Philadelphia-based independent arts and culture consultant. He has over two decades of experience as a practicing museum curator and educator, most recently at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, where he began an artist-in-residence program, commissioned several new media projects, and produced a range of educational and public programs. Bill has a BA in history from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in cultural planning and policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is co-editor of the book Letting Go? Sharing Historical Authority in a User Generated World (Left Coast Press, 2012).
Dr. Anne Bowler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware where she teaches undergraduate courses on social theory and the sociology of art. She is also the co-founder of the Digital Archive for Creative Vision Factory, a collaborative project between the University of Delaware and a peer-run community arts organization located in Wilmington, Delaware that provides studio work and exhibition space for individuals on the behavioral health spectrum.
Catherine Cooney is an experienced special collections librarian and Special Projects Coordinator for Community Building within the Teaching with Primary Sources Teachers Network. Her work as an educator and librarian has focused on using books, museum collections, and everyday objects to ignite curiosity in a broad and diverse audience of learners. She has developed programs on object-based inquiry that include library research techniques, analysis of primary source materials through examining collections, and interpretation through hands-on studio art projects with teaching artists in multiple media.
Tania Isaac Hyman is a former Pew Fellow and McDowell fellow; a choreographer, dancer, writer who has led international performances while creating models for thoughtful, audience-centered engagement. While working as a touring artist, Isaac gave public talks, published and presented projects on creative process in the arts and its potential applications across multiple fields. As an MPA student at Fels Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, Isaac bridged her background in performance with growing experience in policy analysis and Public Administration. This has created a unique skill-set directly transferable to program design, program evaluation, strategic planning, organizational analysis and human centered story-telling, with a focus on inclusion. Isaac looks at culture as an ecosystem built on the exchange between commerce and art, between creative thought and innovative action and in the mutual benefit of opportunities for interaction. Over the last few years, she has created an intimate, process-based inquiry called an “open/living notebook” that invites audiences to contribute their questions and perspectives on the ways in which our institutional decisions affect how people live, work and access quality of life. Her published writing explores the spectrum of contemporary dance ranging from essays and commentary to comparative esthetics in performance. Tania is a former Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography Fellow, Pew Fellow, MacDowell Fellow, and Urban Leaders Fellow. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master in Fine Arts in Dance from Temple University, and a Master in Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute for Government.
Lois Stoehr spent seventeen years as an educator at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, in which capacity she endeavored to empower people of all ages to connect with beauty, history, and each other through programs that inspired creativity, stoked curiosity, and built community. These initiatives included initiating the artist-in-residence program in partnership with the New Wilmington Art Association, after school programming for elementary-age students at the Salvation Army, and the multi-faceted teen volunteer program, among many other programs that paired investigation of objects with creative endeavor and inquiry. As an adjunct instructor for the Museum Studies Program at the University of Delaware, she nurtured critical inquiry pertaining to interpretive practices, and worked with both large and small institutions to engage students in the task of making collections relevant and accessible for diverse audiences. As Internship Coordinator at the University of Delaware, Lois develops opportunities for practical work experience with strong learning objectives for students in the arts & humanities, with a particular focus on students in the museum studies program.
Neferteri Strickland is a Cybertechnology Strategist, military officer who aligns with community initiatives in K-20 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education. She has served as a contractor for the Department of the Navy and currently serves as a Communications Officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Most recently, Captain Strickland has been appointed as an adjunct professor in blockchain technology at Saint Joseph’s University and a lecturer at The Wharton School of Business. She serves on the Board of Trustees at the Library Company.
Beyond Glass Cases: The Library Company of Philadelphia’s “Collections Lab” has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
