Jessie Brown

Curatorial Technician

 

Highlights:

• Worked at MOI since 2025
• Master’s degrees in comparative literature and cultural studies (Arkansas) and education (Christian Brothers) and degree in interdisciplinary humanities (BYU)
• work experience at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Library of Congress, and Teach for America

 

Profile:

Q: Explain what you do at the museum in 20 words or less.

Jessie: I work in the museum archives documenting and organizing our collections and helping to answer research questions. 

Q: What’s a museum-related accomplishment that you’re particularly proud of?

Jessie: In conducting research for my master’s thesis, I read about a headless jaguar sculpture that was found alongside the chacmool figure I was studying and was able to locate the sculpture when I traveled to Chichén Itzá and visited the brand-new museum there: El Gran Museo de Chichén Itzá. The jaguar sculpture provided important context for the chacmool figure and its modern name that helped inform my final thesis.

Q: What do you do for fun?

Jessie: I enjoy running and I love to travel. My favorite destinations have been Mexico City, Spain, and Iceland. I also love reading (especially dystopian fiction) and watching TV (especially comedies).

Q: What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this (and if money were no object)?

Jessie: If money were no object, I would probably pursue something more creative like playwrighting or painting.

Q: What’s the weirdest / most interesting past job you’ve had?

Jessie: I interned with the House of Representatives when I was an undergraduate student and one of my main duties was giving tours of the U.S. Capitol building. I loved showing constituents the rotunda and the whispering spot where the domed ceiling allowed for eavesdropping across the room.

Q: Name a setback in your life that has ended up being a good thing.

Jessie: I relocated to Arkansas for my spouse’s job, which required me to quit my job as a high school Spanish teacher. Rather than getting relicensed to teach in Arkansas, I took a chance and applied to graduate school for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies. This reignited my passion for art and foreign literature and allowed me to pivot toward a career more directly focused on the humanities, including museum work.

Q: What’s something – large or small, useful or not – that you’re really good at?

Jessie: Hula hooping. So far this has not proven useful at all, but I believe my record is upwards of 45 minutes.

Q: What were you like in high school?

Jessie: I enjoyed reading and learning—unless that learning was focused on math. I discovered my love for running during high school by stumbling onto the track team and then continuing to run track and cross-country throughout high school.

Q: What’s your favorite book, movie, and TV show?

Jessie:

• Book: The Book Thief
• Movie: What If
• TV show: 30 Rock

Q: Tell us something about you that might surprise us.

Jessie: I took a puppetry class in college and got to make my own muppet.