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Expert Profile
Tamara Schwarz
Pronouns:
She/her
Availability:
Available
Contractor/Consultant
Position Type:
Oakland
California
United States of America
Email:
Years in the field:
20 – 25 Years
Areas of Expertise
Curatorial/Collections, Exhibits development, Senior Leadership, Partnerships, Project Management, Strategic Planning
With a two-decade track record of developing award-winning museum exhibitions and multimedia projects for organizations like the California Academy of Sciences, Chabot Space & Science Center, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Tamara knows the ins and outs of bringing exhibitions to life.
Her expertise includes exhibition and interpretive planning, content strategy and development for exhibitions and digital experiences, writing and editing, team leadership, and project management. She is known for being astute at spotting and cultivating good ideas and infusing patience and steadiness into unpredictable processes.
Tamara’s work starts with a passion for uncovering stories that spark curiosity and forge connections between people and places. She distills complex subject matter into compelling exhibitions and multimedia that matter to public audiences.
In pursuit of memorable experiences, Tamara has climbed inside a Russian space capsule, sourced props and wardrobe elements for film shoots with Bill Nye, sent climbers to the top of a 350-foot-tall redwood tree, and delved into the wonders of animal skulls, skin, and venom.
From opening the first multilingual exhibits at the California Academy of Sciences to embedding gameplay in the multi-platform Bill Nye’s Climate Lab for Chabot Space & Science Center, her work has received awards for excellence and innovation from the American Alliance for Museums, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, and the Association of Science and Technology Centers.
Previously, as Director of Exhibit Development & Strategic Planning at the California Academy of Sciences, she led exhibit planning and development for more than 30 natural history and aquarium exhibitions and managed a team responsible for interpretive strategy, content development, interactive experience design, and evaluation. As Senior Manager of Experience Design at Chabot Space & Science Center, her work spanned physical and online exhibitions, planetarium shows, and live science theater.
She holds a degree in environmental studies from Brandeis University.