MEET MEET Tiana Weiler, Director, Department of Cultural Services, Village of Schaumburg

Tiana Weiler - Village of SchaumburgTiana Weiler grew up in a small town in Montana on the Canadian and North Dakota border.  She graduated in a class of only ten school mates.  Her parents still live in the house she grew up in.  She has an undergraduate degree in business and speech communications and theatre arts along with a master’s degree in arts administration.

Before starting with the Village of Schaumburg as the Director of Cultural Services, she worked as the Director of Event Management at McCormick Place for 14 years.  As Director of Events, Tiana and her team executed almost every aspect of the event production at North America’s largest convention center; from logistics in and out of the building to meeting and audio-visual set-up as well as the complexities of moving people around during the event itself.  Tiana used to tell her team, “We aren’t curing cancer, but we are often hosting the doctors who are working to cure cancer.” And for that reason, they wanted to get it right every time; facilitating education and training and creating a positive experience was always their primary objective.  “We didn’t want anything to get in the way of their learning.”, she relays.

When asked how her skills in the trade show business transfer to the performing arts, she points out the similarities of putting on a show at a convention center and on a stage.  “People are coming and you need to know how long you are going to need to set up, you need to anticipate their needs and you are going to need to practice beforehand.  It’s all very similar.”

One of the more interesting work experiences she recalls was when she was working as a grad school intern with the Peninsula Players Theater in Door County, Wisconsin. “I worked in the office during the day, parked cars before the show and sold concessions during intermission. I lived in the "boat house" on the Green Bay waters and made $30/week + room & board. It was one of the best experiences, where I learned it takes lots of people with different roles to bring together live entertainment.”

Tiana has been in her current role since the spring of 2022 and states that the most rewarding aspect is, “the opportunity to bring the arts and live events to the Schaumburg community."  She states, “The chance to engage our youth in music, dance and theater encourages self-expression and creativity and helps them build confidence. Here they will find life-long friendships. Also, the chance to offer a variety of free events through Septemberfest, Prairie Arts Festival and Summer Breeze concerts is an exciting part of my job.”

To young professionals just getting started in their careers, she recommends, “Connect with others in the industry through various industry associations. People in the hospitality and arts communities are very open to sharing their experiences and resources. Best practices can be found through one's peers.”


Special thanks to Tiana for sharing a little bit about herself! We hope you join us as we share Partner Spotlights each month.