Linda Neylon
I earned my bachelor's degree in history from Millersville University of Pennsylvania and my master's degree in history with a concentration in public history from American University. I am currently working as the assistant program director for education at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. Like many people working in the field of public history, my daily responsibilities vary. The main responsibilities of my job, though, are centered around the interpretation of Eastern State Penitentiary for children and families. I am currently working to make our school tours more interactive and to make them more useful and accessible for teachers. I also have partnered with local schools and community organizations, helping kids to understand our history, as well has how we learn it. My training in public history at American University was invaluable, in understanding the basics of interpretation, how the public views museums, and how they connect with history. I use my training and experience that I gained at American every day, researching and developing programs for and with the public that will interest and engage them with their history, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of those programs. Of course, my favorite part of my job is what drew me to the field in the first place- interacting with the public, sharing the site's history, and learning from those who were here when it was a working penitentiary.
