Hey, I’m Jessica.
Dr. Jessica BrodeFrank (she/her) spent the last decade in cultural heritage institutions, running DAMS, digital humanities research, and digital curation. She held positions at the Georgetown University Library, Adler Planetarium, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Smithsonian’s NAA, Gardens, NPG, and NMAAHC. She leads the Chicago Collections Consortium portal as part of her role as a Clinical Professor and Digital Librarian with the University of Illinois Chicago. Her research, publications, and presentations continue from her doctorate at the University of London, and focus on community engagement as a means of digital engagement and digital literacy, and the enrichment of metadata taxonomies as a way towards inclusive search and access.
My Research Interests
Crowdsourcing
This research centers on how public involvement enriches the narratives shared, building transparency and trust within organizations and the surrounding communities whilst increasing accessibility through diversified language and enriched image description. It also highlights the multifaceted and collaborative nature of this work within institutions, requiring institutional commitment and resources from across departments to create truly mission-centric, community engaging projects.
Critical Heritage
As social justice movements challenge power structures, the ways that cultural institutions create knowledge are also under scrutiny. Instead of using traditional top-down approaches to cataloging, I use crowdsourcing projects to demonstrate how cultural institutions can actively co-create object metadata and research through collaborations with the public.
Digital Literacy
Empowerment, rather than delivery, is a powerful prism through which to think about digital transformation in museums. Museums can serve their communities in this moment by moving away from a rationale of metadata creation as service delivery and towards an educational, co-production model that focuses on digital literacy and digital citizenship. Through this work, museums can advocate for their position as critical information infrastructure in misinformation emergencies.
Agile Project Management
At the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences I was brought on board to help provide strategic leadership and data driven insights to the teams managing assets and metadata. Stepping in to direct and manage a team of digital archivists, data scientists, taxonomist/ontologists and metadata specialists, I specifically built an internal culture of research, impact evaluation, technical writing, and iteration. My focus brought disparate teams across the Academy together, creating a culture of teamwork centered around a common mission and an emphasis on human-centered design
Mentorship
From serving as a UIC Honors College Faculty Fellow, to running the Museum Computer Network Scholarship program for emerging professionals, mentorship has been at the core of my service within the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums field. I remain committed to ensuring access to the field for all interested and helping to lift up those on my teams and in my space, leading to promotions or new positions for 85% of my direct reports so far.
Community Engagement
My work is situated within data preservation and access, with a specific focus on building community networks and engagement across community sectors. At the Chicago Collections Consortium I serve as a partner with leaders across the Chicagoland area to ignite, connect, integrate, and facilitate organizational data strategies, data governance, and data investments across the Chicagoland cultural heritage sector that accelerate the communities needs to use, protect, disseminate, and generate data.
Digital Exhibition Programs
I worked hard to create and publish compelling, engaging and accurate content, focusing on more diverse and inclusive narratives; pushing for equity while also fighting distrust for STEM in the American public by prioritizing the integration of art and humanities and an overhaul of professional practices. This work led me to create 25 virtual exhibitions, with tied in positions on event and program planning teams including taking the lead on managing the formulation and execution of programs and events for the Apollo 11 Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration, Apollo 13 Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration, Black History Month, Great American Solar Eclipse, and more.
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Publications
10+ publications
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Presentations
40+ in person and online
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Media
Appearances in print, radio, and film
Blooloop 50 Museum Influencer List 2024
The blooloop 50 celebrates the work of fifty key individuals whose creativity, passion and drive has helped shape and improve the industry.
Accolades
Special Mention for the Digital Innovation in Art Award 2023
.ART Registry, in collaboration with GP Bullhound Allstars, is excited to unveil the finalists for the prestigious Digital Innovation in Art Award 2023 (DIIA).
Colette Dufresne-Tassé Award 2024
Created in 2015, the Colette Dufresne-Tassé Award aims at stimulating research among ICOM Committee for Education and Cultural Action (CECA) members.
Get in Touch!
Interested in collaborating? Interested in engaging for a speaking opportunity?
