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Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum announces education staff promotions

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has recently promoted three staff members in its education department. Jill Ferris of Stevensville, Md. is the new Director of Education; Allison Speight of Trappe, Md. is Volunteer & Education Programs Manager; and Matthew Engel of St. Michaels, Md. is Lead Educator.

“Expanding CBMM’s education programs is critical to our mission,” commented CBMM President Kristen Greenaway. “These promotions help position CBMM for that growth, and with our role of helping children understand more clearly the history, environment and people​ ​of the Chesapeake Bay, ultimately more children will become stewards of the Bay.”

Jill Ferris is responsible for furthering CBMM’s mission by creating, evaluating, and managing innovative education programming of the highest caliber for diverse audiences of all ages. Ferris most recently served as CBMM’s School & Family Programs Manager, with prior experience as an eighth-grade teacher with Queen Anne’s County Public Schools, where she received the 2015 Outstanding Teacher Technology Award, and the 2014 Maryland History Day District Teacher Award. She was selected as a Master Teacher with Maryland State Department of Education in 2014 and 2015, where she instructed teachers and administrators on the implementation of inquiry learning in the social studies classroom.

Ferris holds a master’s degree in history museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, an academic division of the State University of New York at Oneonta. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, with distinction in the liberal arts core curriculum from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., where she earned a bachelor’s degree and History and Secondary Education Teacher Certification. Ferris received Colgate University’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008, and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Taiwan from 2008-2009.

As the Volunteer & Education Programs Manager, Allison Speight creates, implements, and supervises programs and materials for families, students, and adults who use CBMM as a resource, including the CBMM Volunteer Program, and Lighthouse Overnight Adventures. Speight previously served as CBMM’s Education & Volunteer Coordinator, beginning her career at CBMM as an education intern in 2013. Speight graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington College with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a concentration in Chesapeake regional studies.

Matt Engel has been promoted to Lead Educator, after serving for more than two years as CBMM’s Shipwright Educator. As Lead Educator, Engel will continue to develop the Rising Tide After-School Boatbuilding Program in addition to supporting school tours and programs.

Engel brings more than ten years’ experience in boatbuilding, project management, and training program development. In addition to founding his own construction company, Engel most recently served as Senior Programs Manager with All Hands Volunteers in Leyte, Philippines, where he managed and mentored program managers across multiple reconstruction projects. Engel learned the aspects of wooden boat construction at The Landing School in Arundel, Me.

Established in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a world-class maritime museum dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment and people of the entire Chesapeake Bay, with the values of relevancy, authenticity, and stewardship guiding its mission. Serving nearly 80,000 guests each year, CBMM’s campus includes a floating fleet of historic boats and numerous indoor and outdoor exhibitions situated in a park-like setting along the Miles River and St. Michaels’ harbor. For more information, visit cbmm.org

From left: Recently promoted at CBMM are Jill Ferris of Stevensville, Md. as Director of Education, Matthew Engel of St. Michaels, Md. as Lead Educator, and Allison Speight of Trappe, Md. as Volunteer & Education Programs Manager.