Episode 7: Jason Porter and Beth Redmond-Jones

Open Admission

https://openadmissionpodcast.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/jasonbeth.mp3

Just in time for the holidays – the final episode of Open Admission Season One! We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, our supporters, for listening in this year. Stay tuned for information on Season Two in 2017. For now, we are taking a brief holiday hiatus, but we look forward to continuing our journey with you soon – from both coasts!

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JASON PORTER is the Director of Education and Public Engagement at the San Diego Museum of Man. He is an experienced educator, educational leader, and curriculum designer with a long history in progressive and informal education. After receiving degrees from Tufts University and Seattle University, he worked as a classroom teacher for thirteen years, teaching Humanities and Special Education at the middle and high school levels in alternative, independent, and traditional schools. In the course of his teaching career, he served as a department chair, an administrator, a dean, and a student case manager. Jason’s doctoral dissertation from UCLA examined the ways that new charter schools can best prepare to serve the needs of students with disabilities. Prior to moving to San Diego, he served as the Associate Director of Education at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, where he oversaw content and programs for family, school, and teacher audiences, including programs associated with the award-winning exhibition Noah’s Ark at the Skirball. His work has allowed him to pursue relationships between cultural institutions and community organizations in the interest of expanding the social role of museums and providing visitors with tangible ways to affect change in the world. Papers and conference presentations at various convenings and events across the country have provide platforms from which to share this perspective with the museum community more broadly.

BETH REDMOND-JONES is Senior Director of Public Programs at the San Diego Natural History Museum where she oversees exhibitions, education in the US and Baja California, and volunteers. Beth has developed, designed, and project managed exhibitions and public programs for numerous cultural institutions, and has held a number of senior and executive management positions in museums over the past 27 years. Beth holds a Masters in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy University and a BA in Art History from the University of New Hampshire. She serves on the board of the National Association for Museum Exhibition (NAME), a Professional Network of the American Alliance of Museums. Beth is very active in working to create safe spaces in museums for all visitors. A majority of her recent work has been working collaboratively with young adults with autism to create social stories for several museums in Balboa Park. You can learn more about the Social Stories: SPECTRUM Project here (recently funded by IMLS!).