Vital People 5 Years On: Jamie Fenton
Vital People 5 Years On: Jamie Fenton
Jamie Fenton
Charities are vital to our community, and the employees within them play a significant role in creating an inclusive community for everyone. The Vital People award recognizes individuals or groups working in the London and Middlesex County charitable sector with funding for professional development.
Jamie Fenton was Manager of Programs and Services at London Children's Museum when she was one of the applicants selected for the award. Since then, Jamie has advanced in her career, becoming Head of Operations and Visitor Experience at Museum London in October 2024. Recently, Jamie told us how the Vital People award helped her make this move.
Why did you apply for the Vital People award?
I was the Manager of Programs and Services at the London Children's Museum at the time. While I had extensive experience in program development and team management, I lacked context in the museum-specific aspects of the role. It was important for me to pursue meaningful professional development to build that background and strengthen my overall capacity.
What did you use the award money for?
The intention was to attend the annual International Children's Museum conference, but I was a Vital People recipient in 2020, right in the middle of our global pandemic. The conference was switched to a virtual format and I was still able to participate, but we were able to defer the funds from Vital People so I could attend in person the following year.
How did you benefit from being at the conference?
The workshops were high quality. They gave me a firm grasp on museum regulations, went into the challenges of programming in museums, and they helped build my confidence. Although I didn’t have that formal education or background in museum studies, I was still a programming expert in my own right, and it didn't necessarily mean that I needed to go back to school to continue to grow in my role.
I saw the work happening internationally in children's museums and took what I’d learned and reflected on my own practice at the London Children's Museum. It made me say, “Hey, we're doing really great things here in London,” so much so that it actually made me think that we could be a top contender in presenting at the conference in the following year.
So we put in a proposal to present at the following year's conference, and we were successful. We travelled to Saint Louis in 2022 to present our work and speak about what we were doing, and then were invited back the following year to New Orleans in 2023. I am passionate about programming and accessibility, and spoke a lot in these conferences about accessibility of programming and partnerships with the city, partnerships with other corporations, and ways to provide museum education across London and across the communities.
How did those experiences impact your career moving forward?
We were in the midst of building the new children's museum at 100 Kellogg and transitioning from our home at 21 Wharncliffe, and we’d spent quite a bit of time developing what that programming would look like, what the transition would look like, and I was getting towards the end and completion of this work. I saw a posting for the Head of Operations and Visitor Experience at Museum London, and it was the combination of my experience and the confidence that I gained in the museum sector, participating in these conferences, that gave me the edge in applying for this very competitive role.
What does your story tell us about the importance of the Vital People award?
Vital People has had a wonderful impact on my story, and with nonprofits not necessarily having the funding to send their team away for professional development, the support that Vital People provides can be the difference in someone participating in a conference/workshop, or not. As someone who conducts a great deal of hiring, sometimes you know when you have a vital person on your team, and being able to support their career growth instead of hiring someone new is so valuable. It’s a great resource for our community.