Report To The Community 2021

lessons in leadership
Later that month, Women@
NJPAC supported the Arts
Center’s robust lineup of social
justice programming by hosting
She Did That: Black Women
in the Workplace, as part of
the PSEG True Diversity Film
Series, which highlighted the
growing impact of African
American women executives and
entrepreneurs — and the barriers
they face in corporate America.
In April, Force of Beauty, another
online conversation, celebrated
a new Audible Original memoir
of growing up in Newark by
Mikki Taylor, an Editor-at-Large
of Essence Magazine and a
member of the Women@NJPAC
Board of Trustees. Taylor, her
co-author Deborah Riley Draper
and CBS Saturday Morning host
Michelle Miller discussed the
story of Taylor’s grandmother
Bessie, a seamstress, and her
mother Modina, who styled
Newark jazz legend Sarah
Vaughan, as they raised families
in the city, succeeding in the
face of numerous hardships.
“Telling the story of three brilliant
matriarchs in Newark is really
telling the story of mothers
in America,” says Draper.
In May, the Women@NJPAC
Spring Luncheon returned
after a year’s hiatus, this time
as an online gathering. The event
featured iconic fashion designer
Norma Kamali as the keynote
speaker, Broadway leading
lady Laura Benanti as
host and also included a
During 2021, Women@NJPAC presented an online Spring Luncheon @ Home,
featuring a conversation with iconic fashion designer Norma Kamali,
here with moderator Marlie Massena; another virtual event, Force of Beauty,
hosted Essence Magazine Editor-at-Large Mikki Taylor, who discussed her
recent memoir about growing up in Newark.
performance by acclaimed
jazz violinist (and NJPAC Board
Member) Regina Carter.
June brought the launch of
Women Leaders @ Work,
a new series of virtual events,
co-sponsored by Executive
Women of New Jersey,
which explores the impact
of businesswomen who are
advancing enterprises large
and small. The first event
in the series, Women in the
Boardroom, focused on women
taking leadership roles on
corporate and nonprofit boards,
challenging the “old boys club”
of these powerful organizations.
“You’re brought on the Board
to lead from a position of
strength, and express opinions
that sometimes may not be
held by the majority but need
to be said,” explained Sharon
Taylor, a member of the New
Jersey Resources Board.
“I think women in particular are
extraordinarily well suited to not
always lead with a two-by-four,
but still say what needs to be said
in a way that can be heard and
understood — and, if necessary,
they can put a fine point on it.”
After the success of the second
Spotlight Gala @ Home in the
fall, Women@NJPAC returned to
hosting in-person events at the
end of the year, with its annual
meeting in the Chase Room,
followed by a panel discussion
called Leading Ladies: Reframing
Newark Through Art, featuring
a quartet of female leaders at
the city’s arts institutions: Regina
Barboza, Interim Executive
Director of Newark Arts; Yeimy
Gamez Castillo, Co-Founder of
ImVisibleNewark; Laura Bonas-
Palmer, Co-Owner and Curator
of Akwaaba Gallery; and
Rebecca Jampol, Co-Director
of Project for Empty Space.
The discussion was moderated
by Aisha Glover, Audible’s Vice
President, Urban Innovation.
The need to support artists to
sustain the city’s growth quickly
became a focus of the discussion.
“Arts are the only business sector
where people are expected to live
off their passion — and nobody
can eat passion!” says Barboza.
“We pay teachers, doctors, any
other professionals. How do you
support artists? You pay them for
their work!” adds Bonas-Palmer.
“When you offer that kind
of support for the artists in
your community, that’s creative
placemaking,” offers Jampol.
“When you have a new building,
and you put a mural in the lobby?
That’s not creative placemaking —
that’s decorating.” •
How do you inspire young
women to be leaders?
One surefire way: Introduce
them to women who are
already leading, and show
them how much like these
icons they already are.
In October, NJPAC helped
produce a speaking tour for
voting rights activist, political
leader and bestselling author
Stacey Abrams. While she
didn’t appear at NJPAC, the Arts
Center helped arrange for her
appearance at Kings Theater in
Brooklyn — and made it possible
for some young Greater Newark
leaders-in-training to meet her.
Women@NJPAC offered tickets
to 25 young women from SHE
Wins, a Newark-based leadership
and social action organization
for middle and high school girls,
and from the BOLD Women’s
Leadership Network at Rutgers
University-Newark, to hear
Abrams speak. The evening
was an inspiring one for the
girls, particularly when they
had the chance to meet with
Abrams before the event.
“She was talking about her
experiences in church, doing
community service. She grew up
with no lights in her house, but she
still made an effort to give back to
the community, volunteer at soup
kitchens. She saw it as her job to
give back, because there’s always
someone who has less than you.
I thought that was really inspiring,”
says Nyla Mitchell of Newark, age
16, a SHE Wins member and North
Star Academy student who was
part of the group to see Abrams.
“When she talked about being
a leader, she asked us: How can
we expect to be a leader if we
can’t see things from another’s
point of view? If you can’t admit
you’re wrong, then you’re not
a leader,” remembers Sasha
Andrews of Newark, age 18,
also a North Star student.
Four young women who ended
up sitting in the front row at
the event were acknowledged
from the stage by Abrams
and later met with the icon
herself. The next day, Abrams
tweeted about meeting the
girls, describing them as
“exceptional young women”
and “dynamic change agents.”
“When we took a picture
with her, she was shocked by
how young we were,” recalls
Princess Clarke of Newark,
age 14, a student at Bard
High School Early College.
“When she was speaking on
stage, (Abrams addressed)
how she felt about how old
our president is. And she
said: ‘Princess there in the
front row tonight would think
that’s extremely old!’”
Abrams got it right, Clarke adds.
“I mean, my grandmother is
older [than the President],
but yes — that’s still old.” •
Political leader and voting rights
activist Stacey Abrams meets with
students from SHE Wins before her
appearance at Kings Theater.
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