Blog

By Ellen Shubart, Class of 2006

Have you had a young woman on your tours – you know, the one who is eager to learn, listens carefully, and is a lot of fun? She’s the new Ticket Services Manager, Emmelia Lamphere.

Emmelia, pronounced Amelia – “you know, like Amelia Bedelia or Amelia Earhart” – joined CAF on July 31. The 28-year old sits in the first floor office just next to the Docent Library, with Deb Rodak.

An Illinois native – born in Aurora, grew up in Prairie Grove (near McHenry and Crystal Lake) — Emmelia has three siblings, all older, and the four of them were home-schooled by their teacher-mom. She went on to Columbia College, where she majored in dance. Emmelia taught dance for a year in Los Angeles, but she didn’t like the city. She returned to Chicago, which she says is her favorite city, met her husband, Jonathan, and settled in. She worked in the ticketing office at Columbia’s School of Dance and danced herself with Laboratory Dancers and Through the Body dance companies. She also worked for the Chicago Opera Theater, Old Navy, and was a City of Chicago employee casualty when DCASE (Department of Culture and Special Events) was created from two previous groups, resulting in substantial layoffs.

Emmelia last worked in the ticketing office at the Goodman Theater. She is very familiar with Tessitura, the ticketing system used by CAF.

“I already knew about CAF,” Emmelia says about her new job. She has taken the River Cruise (who hasn’t?) in private life and done Open House Chicago events with her dad. With just one week on the job, she had already toted up a number of CAF tours as she seeks to find out about them all.

“I’m amazed at the amount of tours, the number of places,” she says. “It’s awesome, not overwhelming. And the variety is really exciting. I think design and architecture are accessible to everyone. That is truly exciting.”

Emmelia and Jonathan, who is a buyer for Whole Foods, live in Lincoln Square.

Stop by her office or say “hi” when you check in for a tour at the Box Office. She is eager to meet docents and volunteers and, as mentioned above, is eager and a lot of fun. You’ll be glad you stopped.