This article was originally published by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. At the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, our mission is to share the often-untold accounts and accomplishments of women and to inspire conversation, connection, and change. Co-creation and community engagement is vital to the success of our mission, so we work to connect […]
Personally, and professionally, July for me has been a month of pause. One of the underlying principles behind my founding of Innovation Philanthropy is the benefit of a pause. Whether a pause results from external circumstances or is self-imposed- it is always a time that can help define the next North Star or discover adjustments to the next steps. In the case […]
The year 2022 was focused on strategic planning in my work. Leading two strategic planning processes for nonprofit organizations, I did not think I would find strong connections with creativity and innovation. Strategic planning is meant to define objectives, right? Innovation is what you do to achieve those objectives – or so I thought. Yet […]
Three days after the horrific massacre that unfolded in a Buffalo supermarket on May 14, I sat down to tape a podcast with the brilliant artist, Edreys Wajed. Edreys co-curated the last exhibition, In These Truths, that the Albright-Knox would present at AK Northland, the museum’s temporary home during construction. I thought Edreys might want to postpone the taping, as […]
If the cultural sector in your community were forever altered, seemingly overnight, with a significant influx of investment…What would you do first? This very dream came true at the end of 2021 for Western New York when the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation announced a $100 million commitment to create long-term sustainability for 13 designated […]
Upon meeting me in my position as Board President of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, I realize that many assume I am an art connoisseur. While I truly enjoy art and do buy the occasional artwork I am moved by, the art itself is not the basis of my enthusiasm for museums. Think about how […]
I am sure that all of us who occupied the Board President/Chair seat of cultural organizations over the last year never imagined facing the challenges wrought by the events of 2020. As we found ourselves making decisions we never fathomed, I am pretty sure that many of us, myself included, spent some time in a dark […]
Me? Go back to school? I’m too old. I know enough already. I will feel awkward. I don’t have time. I already have a law degree. What hooked me? Admittedly being a skeptic myself, when I participated in a session facilitated by a faculty member of the International Center for Creative Studies at Buffalo State […]