Meet Our Spring 2021 Interns

As our spring interns wrap up their time at the Phillips, they share what they hoped to achieve during their internships and what they have been working on over the past few months. 

 “I’m Carmilla Romayn Lemons, a native Washingtonian and a junior at The University of The District of Columbia pursuing my bachelor’s in political science. I received my associates degree in May 2019. I look forward to gaining the knowledge of the official standards, procedures, and policies of the Phillips while developing a true understanding of the museum’s culture and mission. I enjoy learning through research (formally and informally), the arts, diverse cultural experiences, travel, and creating music. I have two beautiful daughters and I cherish family time with activities. My experience as a DEAI Intern at The Phillips was trulydynamic and inspirational. The projects I had the opportunity to dive into included charting DC Census data, a timeline of DC history, and a DC segregation timeline in which I thoroughly enjoyed the research and creation processes. I also had the opportunity to participate and take meeting notes at some of the Institutional History meetings and helped the Digital Librarian with minor tasks. I appreciated the professional development trainings, meeting the staff, and the experience overall.” 

 “My name is Ericka Parham, and I am a senior at Towson University where I study art history: research track. I am a DMV native that took advantage of museum-going before covid. Now, I have found new hobbies like audible books and trying new online recipes. Through this internship with the Public Programs department, I am looking forward to learning the step-by-step process of creating a workshop/event at The Phillips Collection. As the Public Programs Intern, I’ve been working on a proposal for a family workshop during the summer. Through the research of family workshops, I have found a need for programs dedicated to single parents. I hope to foster a relationship with the local community who fit in this demographic and give them their own experience with art at The Phillips Collection.” 

 “My name is Samantha Sanders. I am originally from Muncie, IN. Previously, I worked as a chemical engineer. I am currently attending Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management to earn my MBA with a concentration in Human & Organizational Performance. I have always loved going to museums. I am really looking forward to learning more about the inner workings of The Phillips Collection, how you engage your volunteers, and how you all use data during this internship. I am enjoying my time learning more about the inner workings of The Phillips Collection, how the museum engages its volunteers, and how the museum uses data. I have two main responsibilities: The first is that I assist in managing the volunteer program and maintaining contact with them through monthly meetings and newsletters. The second is that I analyze the visitor experience survey results to help the staff understand what we are doing well and where to direct our efforts to improve the visitor experience.”

 “My name is Carrington Garvin, and I am a full-time senior at Trinity Washington University. I’m majoring in business administration and minoring in fine arts. I have a strong passion for the arts, and I express my passion through makeup artistry. I look forward to learning more about the financial aspect of museums and staying up to date with today’s online databases that keep companies up to date. What pulled me toward The Phillip Collection is my love for museums and the fact that I could possibly work with other creatives, no matter the task I was doing while with the organization. As the Finance Intern, my job has been to research accounts payable software that will best benefit our department in its mission to go paperless.” 

 “My name is Madison Greene. I am a junior graphic design major from Atlanta, Georgia, and I attend Howard University. I am very excited to work at The Phillips Collection in the Marketing and Communications Department. I hope to learn more about design in a museum space and work with a team of great designers and marketers. As the marketing intern, I had the opportunity to expand my design and marketing knowledge by helping create the blog post for Instagram. I also gained experience working with other departments, on projects like the children’s activity booklets designed for the Education department. I enjoyed working with the Marketing and Communications team and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with The Phillips Collection.” 

 “I am Lindsay Kircher, I am from McLean, Virginia, where I currently live and work. I recently graduated from the Schreyer Honors College at the Pennsylvania State University in May 2019 with a bachelor of fine arts in drawing and painting and minors in Spanish and arts entrepreneurship. In my art practice, I make paintings of brave female protagonists empowered by the natural environments that they inhabit. My work is influenced by my interests in ritual and comparative mythology, environmentalism, and ecofeminism, and is also influenced by an understanding of my own body and gender. I am excited to be the Education and Community Engagement Intern because I am passionate about empowering people to express their artistic voices. My current position as Instructor of Art at Arlington Arts Center, as well as my previous experience as the Gallery Interpretation and Public Programs Intern at the Palmer Museum of Art, have deepened my commitment to facilitating accessible and innovative art programs. Through this internship at the Phillips I have had the opportunity to work with many different museum visitors and develop skills as an effective arts educator, while also supporting the outreach of an incredible arts institution. I have enjoyed working with the Education and Community Engagement Department to coordinate workshops for families and students. Working in this department has enabled me to learn more about reaching new museum audiences through art education and programming.”

 “My name is Alessia Amato. I recently moved to Washington, DC, from Long Island, New York, and am a second semester graduate student in the Art and Museum Studies program at Georgetown University. While I appreciate the contributions of all departments within a museum, I am most interested in the Development Department. As a Development Intern at The Phillips Collection, I researched current and prospective art donors while managing the art donor project, compiling and organizing data regarding artwork that was donated to the museum. This project was a major component of the Phillips’s fundraising and strategic plan. My experience in this department solidified my interest in advancing in a career in development, especially at an art museum. During my free time, I enjoy vintage shopping, hiking, making clay jewelry, and visiting museums and galleries (when they’re open).” 

 “My name is Kyrie Blackman, and I am a 2020 graduate of Morehouse College where I earned my bachelor’s in Sociology. I am a Los Angeles native and transferred to Morehouse after earning my associates degree from Cerritos College. I am passionate in the arts and curating after spending my free time volunteering and interning at various museums. I am very excited for this internship opportunity and to work with the DEAI Department (Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion) and I hope to gain even more insight into how museum institutions function. Though the pandemic has shifted our lives very abruptly, I am thankful for the opportunity it has presented me in connecting with the Phillips and its diverse staff. From the insightful dialogue with members of my cohort, unique activities within our anti-racism trainings, and personal check-ins with my mentor Yolanda Hester, I have amassed great knowledge and warm energy at the Phillips. I have been given the opportunity to create a newsletter centered around DEAI inspired news and information that I am grateful for. As the DEAI Intern I was also tasked to reach out to past interns and fellows to conduct the 2021 alumni survey.” 

 “My name is Oscar Flores-Montero and I recently graduated from Elon University with a bachelor’s degree in arts administration and minor in business administration and studio visual arts. Raised in Durham, North Carolina, I am thrilled to be setting my sights on Washington, DC. Furthermore, I’m incredibly excited and honored to be interning at The Phillips Collection during its 100th year celebration. As an aspiring curator, I look forward to learning all there is to know about representation within 21st century modern art throughout my internship. The Phillips Collection has an incredibly multi-talented museum staff and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to learn from and work beside them this spring. I hope to broaden my knowledge of modern art, learn from their experiences working at The Phillips Collection, and look forward to surrounding myself with others who love modern art. While at the Phillips, I have had the privilege of working in the Curatorial Department. I’ve worked on public programming for our upcoming Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle exhibition, as well as working to support our other upcoming shows such as the juried exhibition. Many of my day-to-day tasks involve research, meeting with other departments to discuss future programs, and helping my supervisors with editing.”