Tierney Brown

Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Buddhism Public Scholar, Division of Anthropology

Tierney Brown stands outside in front of a low brick wall that houses plants and trees.
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Tierney Brown (She/Her) is the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global Buddhism Public Scholar at the American Museum of Natural History. Working in the Division of Anthropology, she is conducting research on the Asian Ethnology collection to inform future directions for stewardship and collaborative research. 

Illustration of two seated students taking notes and listening to a seated speaker.
Tierney conducts an interview alongside Yangday La as part of the Drawn from Thimphu project. This project focuses on young Bhutanese artisans as they find their own balance between tradition and innovation. 
Sketch by Wang Rana Gurung

Dr. Brown’s own research based in Bhutan considers what it means to care for the past, and the ways in which heritage is reinvented to meet the needs of each generation and community. Her writing looks at material culture, science, and Buddhism in practice to consider the ways in which relationships endure through the objects in our lives. She collaborates with the National Library and Archives of Bhutan, and has worked with VAST to bring together writers, artists, and researchers in the Drawn from Thimphu project. 

In Spring 2026 she co-taught the Museum Anthropology course with Senior Curator in Residence of Asian Ethnology, Laurel Kendall, resulting in new labels in the Hall of Asian Peoples and the interactive website Encounters in Sacred Space. In 2027 she is bringing together New York City Himalayan diaspora perspectives on the historical collection of devotional figures (སྐུ་རྟེན་) at the Museum.