Volunteer Spotlight: Tiffany Lin

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray profiles volunteers within the museum. Phillips volunteers are an integral part of the museum and help in many ways: greeting and guiding guests through the museum, helping with Sunday Concerts, assisting patrons in the library, helping out with Phillips after 5 and special events, and so much more. Our volunteers offer a wealth of expertise and experience to the museum, and we are delighted to highlight several them.

Tiffany Lin, Phillips Music Volunteer

Tiffany Lin

What year did you start volunteering at The Phillips Collection?
2016

What do you see as the most valuable aspect of your volunteering?
I enjoy seeing patrons who attend music concerts week after week, season after season. The Sunday Concerts have cultivated a community for music enthusiasts in DC to gather and share an afternoon together. I often witness audience members leaving concerts more invigorated than they were coming into the concert.

What do you do when you are not volunteering at The Phillips Collection?
I’m a business analyst at the Carlyle Group where I’ve worked for five years. In the fall, I will be joining the MBA program at the Wharton School in Philadelphia.

What is your favorite room or painting here?
The Music Room holds a special place in my heart. I’ve spent many moments unintentionally holding my breath in the Music Room, captive to the music vibrating off the dark wood paneling.

If you had to choose one word to describe Phillips, what would it be?
Sanctuary

Share a fun fact about you!
I play a bell tower instrument called the carillon and have performed concerts in 10 states since 2013 as a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. Come hear me play this summer at the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington on June 30 and the McDonogh School on July 6.

Is there anything else you would like to share?
While I’ve enjoyed exploring other nearby venues for Sunday Concerts, I am excited to be back in the Music Room after the renovation is completed this year!

Volunteer Spotlight: Kathy Kendall

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray profiles volunteers within the museum. Phillips volunteers are an integral part of the museum and help in many ways: greeting and guiding guests through the museum, helping with Sunday Concerts, assisting patrons in the library, helping out with Phillips after 5 and special events, and so much more. Our volunteers offer a wealth of expertise and experience to the museum, and we are delighted to highlight several them.

Kathy Kendall, Phillips Music Volunteer

Kathy Kendall

What year did you start volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

2011

What do you see as the most valuable aspect of your volunteering?

Sitting in the Music Room listening to prize-winning musicians from many countries has not only given me enormous pleasure, hearing the classics played with such fervor and skill, but has also broadened my taste for new and unusual music. We’re all sharing the experience together; sometimes the room just vibrates with excitement. I am delighted to be there, and to help the staff and the audience with the tickets, the programs, and the questions that arise.  We can be an extra hand.

The musicians have extremely busy schedules, and generally leave soon after the concert.  Occasionally, however, the musicians have time for a brief foray into the gallery, and I take them to see Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party. The Renoir and Friends: Luncheon of the Boating Party exhibition and excellent panel presentation about the painting helped me to deepen my knowledge of that treasure.

What do you do when you are not volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

I am about 90% retired as a professor of political communication, having taught at the University at Albany, State University of New York for 37 years, and then at the University of Maryland, College Park, in the Department of Communication. I still work with a few graduate students at UMD; publish occasionally on topics such as communication in the presidential primaries; and attend professional conventions. In my photo, I’m sitting in the model of the Oval Office at the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas, happy that more and more women are stepping forward and running for office. 2018 should be a banner year for female candidates.

What is your favorite room or painting here?

For the music volunteers, the Music Room is a logical favorite. The oak paneling, the high windows, the beautiful paintings, and the historical ambiance (these concerts began in 1941) provide the perfect setting for the glorious chamber music.

If you had to choose one word to describe Phillips, what would it be?

I would have to choose several—human scale, calm, and intense focus on creativity.

Share a fun fact about you.

I like the funnies, and read some comic strips every day in the Washington Post. What will happen tomorrow in Spider Man, Pickles, Mark Trail, Peanuts, Sally Forth, and Doonesbury?

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I fell in love with DC on the Washington Semester Plan in college, and can’t imagine a better place to be. The Phillips is a vital part of my life.

Volunteer Spotlight: Faezeh Foroutan

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray profiles volunteers within the museum. Phillips volunteers are an integral part of the museum and help in many ways: greeting and guiding guests through the museum, helping with Sunday Concerts, assisting patrons in the library, helping out with Phillips after 5 and special events, and so much more. Our volunteers offer a wealth of expertise and experience to the museum, and we are delighted to highlight several them.

Faezeh Foroutan, Phillips Music Volunteer

Faezeh Foroutan

What year did you start volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

I started volunteering with Phillips Music some seven years ago.

What do you see as the most valuable aspect of your volunteering?

Coordinating all the volunteers during the Phillips Music season.  We have a large number of volunteers varying between ten and twelve.  For every Sunday concert, we assign two volunteers. This requires careful coordination and planning in advance to make sure that volunteers are available and that they attend the concert of their preference.

What do you do when you are not volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

I am currently retired, but I worked as an economist for the World Bank for over 25 years.

What is your favorite room or painting here?

The Music Room is really my favorite. It is elegant; intimate for concerts; has great paintings on the walls; and most importantly from my perspective, has great acoustics.

If you had to choose one word to describe the Phillips, what would it be?

I would choose two: dedication and passion.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I feel very privileged to be a volunteer at The Phillips Collection.  Every person you meet, from volunteers to interns to the highest-ranking staff, is totally dedicated, knowledgeable, and above all, kind.  The combination of music and visual arts, not to mention the building itself, makes the Phillips stand as a jewel in the crown of Washington, DC.