Ilana Bruton

Experience

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  EVO Gallery

  Jan 2004 - Jan 2009

  Assistant Director

  - Managed gallery, staff, and 20+ artists, facilitated 4-5 shows per year- Communicated with clients and managed all sales - Coordinated and traveled to art fairs in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles - Led marketing initiatives: wrote press releases, gallery invitations, negotiated gallery advertising in national/international publications

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  The Henry Ford

  Sept 2008 - Feb 2010

  Curator of Education, Youth, Family and Adult Programs

  - Developed and implemented onsite/offsite youth, adult, and family programming - Coordinated school symposiums, teacher forums and special community events - Researched, prototyped and launched ten new programs for Scout groups- Created innovative content and curriculum-aligned field trip guides- Conducted audience studies, compiled, synthesized and presented results to staff

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  Chicago History Museum

  Aug 2010 - Aug 2018

  -Design, implement, and manage public programs for adult, family, and teen audiences-Co-Director of the City Tour Program, which includes 150+ walking, bus, boat, running, and L tours each year-Manage public program staff, volunteers, interns, and professional tour guides-Increase yearly revenue goals of over $100,000 and manage public program operating plan and special exhibition budgets-Implement audience research, surveys, and user testing in order to enhance visitor experiences -Develop partnerships with cultural organizations (WBEZ, The Moth, The Lyric Opera House, Northlight Theatre) and community organizations (Muslim Advisory Council, Japanese American Service Committee, After School Matters) -Lead new teen program initiatives through research and audience studies, grant applications, and program prototypes (FashioNext, CHM residency, GeoConvos) -Senior educator on the following exhibition teams: Fashion Therapy (current), Chicago Muslim (current), FashioNext :Teen Design Competition (2017, 2015), Making Mainbocher: America’s First Courtier (2016), Chicago Authored (2015), Chicago Styled (2015), Railroaders (2014)-Lead strategic planning meetings and the development of public programs three-year plan-Train city tour guide volunteers in presentation skills, customer service skills, and knowledge acquisitionSpecial Project: GeoConvos Founding member of the collaborative "GeoConvos" which uses embodied conversations to examine teen learning pathways through digital and analog tools.This project is in collaboration with University of Illinois at Chicago - College of Education, The Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Project Exploration, Lincoln Park Zoo. Supported by the Hive Fund for Connected Learning at the Chicago Community Trust. Show less

  • Public Programs Manager

    Apr 2013 - Aug 2018

  • Public Programs Coordinator

    Aug 2010 - Mar 2013
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  YNPN Chicago

  Sept 2017 - Sept 2020

  Executive Board Member & Leadership Institute Chair

  The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Chicago (YNPN Chicago) strengthens the nonprofit community by providing accessible professional development, resources, and networking opportunities for young professionals involved in the Chicago-area nonprofit sector.Leadership Institute focuses on developing future leaders for the Chicago nonprofit and public service sectors by providing training, networking, coaching, mentoring, and roundtable discussions with executive directors for early career professionals and managers. It is a 10-month intensive cohort program. Features of the program include: -Ten monthly three-hour sessions with guided peer learning and activities that allow participants to apply what they have learned in the session -Guest presentations from local nonprofit leaders -Monthly one-on-one meetings with a mentor -Access to materials that enhance awareness of best practices and current trends in the nonprofit sector-Final capstone project in collaboration with local nonprofit organization Show less

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  Adler Planetarium

  Sept 2018 - now

  Director of Interpretation and Guest Engagement