FERN TIGER, Principal and Creative Director

Education
B.F.A., M.S., Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
M.F.A., The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

Post Graduate Work
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
(Man-Environment Relations/ Psychology of Art; emphasis on the impact of visual form on audiences; the politics and sociology of art and media and the potential for expanded participation in the arts in the final decades of the 20th century)
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
(Doctoral Program in Art and Cognitive Psychology)

Employment
2004-present, Professor of Practice, College of Public Programs, Arizona State University
1978-present, President and Creative Director, Fern Tiger Associates
1978, Visiting Faculty, University of California at Davis
1977-1978, Editorial Board, Left Curve: periodical focusing on art and popular culture
1975, Project Director, City Spaces Program, Missouri State Council on the Arts
1973-1977, Assistant Professor, Washington University in St. Louis
1971-1973, Instructor, The Pennsylvania State University

Professional Background
Following completion of graduate work and assisted by a grant from the Finnish American Society, Fern began to research the relationship between audiences and artwork and the role of participation in design and media. Upon returning to the states, her postgraduate work focused on how people perceive and handle complex information and the role of media on information dissemination.
Prior to founding Fern Tiger Associates, Fern was on the faculties of Pennsylvania State University and Washington University in St. Louis. During these years she was simultaneously active in community and academic affairs; administered several grants from state and federal agencies; exhibited multi-media art works; and lectured and published on issues related to visual cognition, gaming theory, and the commodification of art. Her teaching responsibilities included interdisciplinary graduate courses on the means by which art and media can and do influence public opinion and engagement.
Recognizing the need for strong and understandable public information that could address and inform local concerns and public policy issues, as well as the emerging role of nonprofits struggling to engage communities in critical issues, she founded Fern Tiger Associates (FTA) in Oakland, CA.
Fern serves as director for all complex projects at FTA. She brings to each a thorough and unusual understanding of the role and potential of community involvement and a commitment to educating as well as disseminating information in appropriate, well-thought-out, and highly visual formats for each audience. The firm’s scope includes the conceptual development, management, and implementation of civic engagement and communication programs that address complex and sometimes controversial issues, and ongoing organizational and governance assistance. Staff has handled numerous technical and management assistance projects for diverse organizations ranging from small but strong children’s organizations to fledgling arts organizations and family health centers; from the start-up of an innovative biotech education and training program to the reorganization of a national consortium of resource centers for people with disabilities, from the need to engage community in land use planning to the need to engage a large public university in the community.
The firm designed and managed a citywide outreach and participation process to enable a California-based school district to revise their grade configuration and integration plan (following approval of a $158 million voter-supported bond measure); managed crisis communication for the schools in anticipation of the PBS broadcast “School Colors;” and developed and managed the strategy needed by a global Fortune 50 biotech company situated in a contentious city with high public involvement, to gain community and government support to supercede existing zoning regulations. This project created innovative partnerships for the company with the local community and nonprofit sector which could benefit from the company’s plans.
Following completion of a two-year study and preparation of a package of materials to increase the number, and impact the quality, of families seeking to adopt at-risk children, the firm produced “Understanding Marketing: Strategies for Child Placement,” a 140-page publication to assist nonprofits to develop and plan marketing and outreach campaigns. The firm was instrumental in attracting national and statewide media attention to the paucity of facilities for child care programs and the need to understand the economic impact of welfare reform. Biennially, the firm produces an award-winning report on childcare supply and demand statewide.
In the last ten years, the firm has assessed welfare reform’s impact on community-based health care, completed a comprehensive planning process to determine the issues impacting the development of brownfields in California, developed an economic literacy program for Maui County, conceived and created an innovative process to determine a vision and set of strategies for the future of Maui County which spurred the involvement of more than 1,700 residents and set the base for the County’s General Plan, devised a plan for a science, math, and technology center in San Mateo County, and guided school districts, public agencies, and scores of nonprofit organizations in the development of appropriate strategies for sustainability and to advance critical ideas and issues.
In 2004, the firm was tapped by the President of Arizona State University to conceive and manage a 28-month study of the appropriate role of a large (65,000 student body) university in a rapidly growing community. The project culminated with a comprehensive set of recommendations intended to transform the institution into a socially embedded organization.
In addition to full time involvement with FTA, Fern is a Professor of Practice at ASU. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards of directors. She is currently on the Board of Advisors of University-Community Partnership for Social Action Research Network and the Downtown Opportunities Board. Fern is a frequent speaker on issues impacting nonprofits and on the role of professionals who work with nonprofit organizations. She is also an avid traveler, having visited more than 40 countries in North, South, and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

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