By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Brittany Cohill said her life hasn’t always followed a straight line — and her personal mantra of “Say ‘yes’ to all good things” is likely part of the reason. She said that it’s rarely steered her wrong. Born in Savannah, she moved with her family to Lake Asbury near Orange Park at the age of four and considers herself a Floridian. She attended Clay County schools and graduated from Clay High School before going on to the University of North Florida. After an extended graduation timeline (again, not a straight line) due to marriage and family, she secured an internship and then a job with Beaches Museum in Jacksonville Beach. She also began teaching classes at Jacksonville University while raising her family. When her mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020, Brittany stepped back from her duties at Beaches Museum to care for her, but knew she wanted to eventually get back to the museum field. The right opportunity came along a couple of years later and now she is the new director of the Mandarin Museum, located minutes from her home in Mandarin. She and husband David, a police officer in Jacksonville Beach, have three children: Caleb, who is a student at the University of South Florida; Kate, who graduates this year and will attend Loyola University in Maryland next fall; and Brendan, a rising fifth grader at The Bolles School. They are parishioners at San Jose Catholic Church.
Q: How did you meet your husband?
A: We met our senior year of high school in Spanish class; we started dating and we never looked back. We both went to UNF and were married while we were students. Our oldest son, Caleb, was born while we were students and I became a stay at home mom before finally going back to school to finish my degree once our second child, Kate, started kindergarten.
Q: How did you become interested in working at a museum? Is it something you wanted to do as a child?
A: As a child, I wanted to be a cashier at Publix or perhaps a pop singer. I had really had no idea what career I wanted even when I started college. My first major was psychology and then when I came back to finish my degree I added history — so when I finally received my degree it was a BA in psychology and history. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I applied for the master’s program in history. I was able to take classes at night and stay home with my children during the day. I interned at the Beaches Museum while still in the master’s program and loved the work and the people. I was eventually promoted to operations manager and then associate director.
Q: How did you become the director of Mandarin Museum?
A: I knew I wanted to get back to the museum field after my mother-in-law passed away. I learned that the Mandarin Museum was searching for a director, so I signed up to be a volunteer first. I trained as a docent and helped with grant writing. I loved it and very quickly told [then-volunteer director] Sandy Arpen that I was the person they were searching for. I lived close by in Mandarin, had the skills, and felt very prepared to step in and continue the good work already started. She and the board agreed and I became the director in March.
Q: What is your favorite part of your job?
A: I love working with the museum volunteers. Museums have a way of attracting the nicest and most interesting people. Seeing their dedication to the museum, its history, and their community is a great experience. I like that we can bridge the gap between scholarly research and public history. And there’s never a dull moment!
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I love live music and going to concerts and music festivals. We enjoy kayaking, often to a restaurant. A new hobby is floral arranging and home decorating. I have always volunteered at my kids’ school. And I like genealogy … even in my spare time, for the fun of it!
Photo courtesy Brittany Cohill
Brittany Cohill with her husband David.
