Jillian Ferris of Stevensville, Md., has joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime as School and Family Programs Manager.
Ferris is responsible for expanding CBMM’s school programming, by developing collaborative relationships with teachers and administrators in Maryland public and private schools, administering CBMM’s new bus scholarship initiative, and implementing CBMM educational programs for teachers, students, and families.
“In order to achieve our goal of doubling our school programs, we needed to expand our capacity,” said CBMM Director of Education and Associate Curator Kate Livie. “We’re thrilled to welcome Jill to our education team. She’s a gifted teacher, and her expertise in education and passion for the Chesapeake will significantly contribute to CBMM’s educational initiatives, as we work to inspire future Chesapeake stewards in our student and family audiences.”
Ferris began working with CBMM in 2010 as a student intern, and later as an education consultant supporting school-based, exhibition programming. Ferris was most recently 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 from 2014-2015, 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, a partnership between the State University of New York at Oneonta and New York State Historical Association. 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 for Taiwan from 2008-2009.
Ferris first became connected to the Chesapeake Bay as an intern at CBMM, and now participates in the Chesapeake’s annual sailing log canoe races aboard CBMM’s Edmee S. as mainsheet tender, among other adventures.
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 70,000 guests each year, CBMM’s campus includes a floating fleet of historic boats and 12 exhibition buildings, situated in a park-like setting along the Miles River and St. Michaels’ harbor. For more information, visit www.cbmm.org