STUDENT CENTER
Student Feature: Julie Goldstein, CNM Candidate
Q: You are currently the Director of Education and Family Programming for Ingenuity Festival of Arts and Technology. How did you get involved with that organization?
A: A friend of mine who works at Liggett-Stashower invited me to a meeting last winter at Liggett where Ingenuity was going to be discussed. The meeting was a brainstorming session between the folks at Liggett, a creative team for IMG, and the founders (James Levin and Thomas Mulready) of Ingenuity. My friend invited me because she knew that I had a strong interest in art and in creativity. At the meeting I shared some suggestions and offered to help develop some program ideas for kids and families, since the entire emphasis of the festival at that point was on adults. James Levin and I had a couple of phone conversations, and a follow-up meeting, and he offered me a position on the staff.
Q: What kinds of ideas did you bring to the Ingenuity Festival?
A: My idea was to have activities specifically for children and for families. I developed a concept for the Family Village, which consisted of four venues. We had two stages, and both indoor and outdoor interactive activities going on for kids and their families.
The Family Village ended up being an important part of the festival. It was a great experience, very gratifying, and was a lot of fun. We're now working on next summer's programming. We're also looking at offering a five day camp for kids as part of the festival. It's great to work with visual artists and dancers and musicians along with scientists and people who specialize in technology.
Q: What other interests do you have and how do they relate to your past work and education experiences?
A: I have a long standing interest in art and in writing. I attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, where I majored in art. I took art and dance and writing classes all over the city, all of which were offered for high school students. From there I studied art, art history, and english at Smith College. In college I did a lot of poetry writing, and received the Academy of American Poets Poetry Prize. I have a Master's in Expressive Arts Therapies (my special interests are in art therapy and psychodrama). I've worked a lot in education (I have experience teaching preschool through College), and in counseling. During college and directly after college I worked at Upward Bound programs. In graduate school ( I lived in Boston) I ran the first workshops ever given for women who'd been sexually abused by their therapists. Another interesting job I had was developing a creative writing program for high school girls with math anxiety, at the Summermath Program at Mount Holyoke College. I taught art history at Tri-C, which I loved. My greatest interests, however, are my five children, who range in age from four to eighteen!
Q: What made you decide to enroll at the Mandel Center and how do you hope your education in Nonprofit Management will help you in the future?
A: I'm very interested in organizations, and in how they work - in what makes organizations functional or dysfunctional, and in communication, and power issues, and in utilizing people's strengths. I was drawn to the program at the Mandel Center because I've never formally studied organizations, and feel I have a lot that I can learn from the various courses that are offered. It's been difficult to choose which courses to enroll in, because they're all so interesting and important! I feel a strong commitment to the nonprofit sector. The program at the Mandel Center is providing me with information and tools. It is also providing me with a comprehensive understanding of nonprofits in general. I'm currently taking courses with Pranab Chaterjee (MAND 420: Nonprofit Organization and Management) and with Janus Small (MAND 486: Leading and Managing Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations). I truly enjoy both classes, and I really appreciate all that I am learning in them.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with us about yourself that you think is interesting?
A: Let's see- I grew up in New Jersey and in New York. I've lived in Western Massachusetts, in Boston, and in California. I've been in Cleveland for ten years. I like to cook, to read, to write, to paint, and to go camping. I enjoy the theatre and the orchestra and dance performances. I like yoga. I love films...
