Adrienne G. Whaley

Director of Education and Community Engagement
Museum of the American Revolution

Description:

Describe the current Black Founders Exhibit, how the Museum of the American Revolution uses reenactors, plans going forward with similar exhibits that help tell a broader and fuller narrative.  

Biography:

Adrienne G. Whaley is an educator and history-lover who currently serves as Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Museum of the American Revolution. She was recently named a Class of 2022 40 Under 40 by the Philadelphia Business Journal and a 10 Under 40 People to Watch honoree by the Philadelphia Tribune and is a 2022 recipient of the Paul Edward Sluby Meritorious Achievement Award from the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.

Adrienne earned her Bachelor's degree in African American Studies from Harvard University and her Master's in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked in both art and history museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the African American Museum in Philadelphia, and the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum, and loves the potential for objects, artifacts, and primary source documents to enrich student learning experiences. She carries her love of history and for uncovering the stories of common people into her spare time as an avid genealogist researching her own family history and as Programming Chair and former President of Philadelphia's African American Genealogy Group. As both a museum educator and as a genealogist, she has presented on television and in workshops and conferences both locally and nationally.