Union City, Tenn.– Dr. Julie Hill has accepted a position as Discovery Park’s vice president and chief operating officer reporting to the president and CEO, Scott Williams. In her previous role at the museum and park, she was the education events coordinator and outreach consultant.
In addition to leading the teams who manage the operations of Discovery Park, Hill will be responsible for the education initiatives and special events that support the organization.
“Julie’s 25 years an educator, administrator, non-profit arts leader and advocate is impressive,” said Williams. “Applying her wide variety of experiences and unique skill set to our mission of inspiring children and adults to see beyond will make a big impact on the communities we serve.”
She also works as a music education consultant for Shelby County Schools and serves as editorial director of publications for the international Percussive Arts Society (PAS).
Hill brings executive leadership experience to Discovery Park as well, being one of only two women who have served as Percussive Arts Society president in the organization’s 60-year history. Hill has worked as online music education specialist for the Tennessee Music Educators Association and program director for “Keeping the Beat by TNMEA,” a music education-based webinar in partnership with the Country Music Association Foundation.
Previously, Hill served as chair of the University of Tennessee at Martin’s Department of Music where she was also a professor of percussion since 2005.
As a scholar and performer, Hill has presented hundreds of workshops, concerts and lectures, championing opportunities for social mobility through music, specifically for black women and underserved children in Northeastern Brazil. Hill is a member of the award winning Caixa Trio and has performed in Peru, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, France, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Taiwan, and throughout the United States. She is also the principal percussionist with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra.
For more information about Discovery Park of America, visit discoveryparkofamerica.com or call 731-885-5455.