Phoebe Hillemann

Phoebe Hillemann serves as Education Specialist at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she has made significant contributions to art education since 2011. After earning her BA in Art History from Kenyon College and MSEd in Leadership in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education, she has pioneered innovative approaches to integrating art across curricula. As the Teacher Institutes Educator, she designs and implements SAAM's Summer Institutes: Teaching the Humanities through Art, a comprehensive program that has reached educators from all fifty states. Her work includes developing advanced-level institutes for alumni, facilitating instructional content using inquiry-based pedagogy, and leading interpretive planning for major exhibitions like "Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice." During the pandemic, she co-created the virtual "Smithsonian Summer Sessions" to support teachers in interdisciplinary teaching with museum objects. Her expertise extends to delivering interactive webinars, presenting at national education conferences, and creating engaging gallery experiences that promote critical thinking and visual literacy. Through her leadership, she has expanded the museum's educational reach while fostering a vibrant community of institute alumni through recurring virtual workshops and personalized curriculum guidance.