De Facto Leaders

If you’ve ever thought about leaving the school systems, you may have wondered what options you have as far as jobs go.

Maybe you feel burnt out, or maybe you just want a change and don’t want to walk away from education completely. 

I understand this dilemma on a deep level, so that’s why I invited Aimee Davis to the De Facto Leaders podcast to talk about how she used her teaching and improv skills to find a fulfilling job outside the school systems.  

Aimee Davis is the Senior Director of the Learning Center at the Field Museum in Chicago. Aimee Davis spent 10 years as a middle school social studies, reading, and language arts teacher before leaving the classroom in 2013 to pursue a career in informal science education. At the Museum of Science and Industry, she developed a suite of inquiry-based floor programs and trained teams of facilitators to deliver daily science programming. She joined The Field Museum in 2015 as the Volunteer and Public Learning Experiences Administrator. In this role, Aimee managed the Grainger Science Hub and associated cart programming, the Discovery Squad and Crown Family PlayLab adult volunteers, and the Teen Volunteer program. 

In 2019, Aimee became the Director of the Learning Center and in 2022, the Senior Director. In this role Aimee oversees the six divisions in the Field's Learning Center which include the museum's offerings for teachers, students, families, community groups, teens, and every day visitors. Aimee trained and taught at The Second City, has a Non-profit Leadership Certificate from Northwestern Kellogg, a M.A. in Education Administration from Saint Xavier University and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Illinois State University.

In this episode, we talk about:

✅How to find a job that aligns with your passion and skills outside the school systems.

✅How learning improv can make you a better teacher, leader, and communicator (even if you’re not in to theater).

✅How museums are leveraging youth programs to enhance real-world, hands-on learning and embracing the benefits of technology.

You can connect with Aimee on LinkedIn here, and find more information about the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois here. 

Be sure to check out the BE podcast network for educators and aspiring leaders. If you’re looking for shows to inspire you to level up in your career or more effectively serve students, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about the BE podcast network at http://bepodcastnetwork.com/

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