Stephanie Swindle Thomas has made a career out of combining her arts degrees and multimedia skills with her passion for arts advocacy. She manages a multi-tiered Multimedia and Communications internship program, where she teaches future arts entrepreneurs to become their own brands, publicists, and art directors. She also teaches courses in photography, museum public relations, and multimedia arts marketing. Her photographs have been featured in various exhibitions, and she has collaborated with artists, musicians, and directors on arts-related projects around the world. As a teacher and mentor, she emphasizes experiential learning and engaged empathy.   

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she is a third-generation musician who worked for The Blues Foundation and The Metal Museum before returning to Penn State to work at The Palmer Museum of Art. She is a published fiction writer, who leads a virtual writer’s group and storytelling workshops.