Design Challenge, Challenging Times: An Interview and Conversation with Erin Sweeney and Schools That Can

The COVID-19 crisis has upended many annual events and programs; many have been canceled, a few have postponed until the next year. However, there are still many that are adapting to the times and moving their events to virtual venues. The process has not been easy, but the results can break new ground in how we approach the crisis. Schools That Can is an example of how organizations have changed how they approach their core events.

Schools That Can partners with schools to deliver engaging Education to Employment content that connects teachers and students to the world of work. Their programs provide schools with historically marginalized students with the capacity to prepare them for careers or college, and all of their programming builds direct connections between students and volunteers from a variety of professional fields. Every year for the past four years, Schools That Can has held its Design Challenge which brings together middle schoolers, teachers, corporate executives, and community leaders to engage in a real-world design experience, that is, transforming urban public school buildings into smart, green, and efficient structures. The project is a collaboration with the Panasonic Foundation and allows students to research the current functionalities of their school buildings and create a concept and design plan for a smart, green school using renewable energy. 

This year, the Design Challenge has been moved online. The program’s Executive Director for Newark, Erin Sweeney, will explain how Schools That Can has met this change and what it means for the event.

Guest:

Erin Sweeney—Erin Sweeney is the Executive Director of Schools That Can for Newark. She has worked as Director of Strategic Initiatives for STC Newark school, St. Benedict’s Prep, and is an alumna of Leadership Newark and Emerge NJ. She earned her Masters in American Studies focused on Newark and migration at Rutgers-Newark, Masters in Public Policy & Urban Planning from Harvard Kennedy School, and Bachelors in Public Policy from University of Chicago. She can’t seem to get enough school, so Erin is studying part-time for her J.D. at Rutgers Law, where she wants to dig into legal issues plaguing families in her community.

Background & Articles:

  • Schools That Can official website: here

  • Article on the Design Challenge: here

  • Gretchen McCulloch website (on language and generational differences): here

Quote: “At that moment, Karl seemed to hear some sound, sense danger; he glanced over his shoulder, began to pedal furiously, bending low over the handlebars. There was still the lonely sentry on the bridge, and he had turned and was watching Karl. Then, totally unexpected, the searchlights went on, white and brilliant, catching Karl and holding him in their beam like a rabbit in the headlights of a car. There came the see-saw wail of a siren, the sound of orders wildly shouted. In front of Leamas the two policemen dropped to their knees, peering through the sandbagged slits, deftly flicking the rapid load on their automatic rifles.---The East German sentry fired, quite carefully, away from them, into his own sector. The first shot seemed to thrust Karl forward, the second to pull him back. Somehow he was still moving, still on the bicycle, passing the sentry, and the sentry was still shooting at him. Then he sagged, rolled to the ground, and they heard quite clearly the clatter of the bike as it fell. Leamas hoped to God he was dead.”—The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John Le Carre. 



Symphony Works: An Interview and Conversation with Taneshia Nash Laird on Newark Symphony Hall

Newark Symphony Hall remains one of the most iconic performance venues in Newark, as well as in New Jersey. Constructed in 1925 at a cost of $2M, the space has been the home of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey State Opera, McDonald’s Gospelfest, the New Jersey Ballet, the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, and the Newark Boys Choir School. Performers over the years have included Judy Garland, Bob Dylan, Patti Labelle, Richard Pryor, Amalia Rodrigues, Gladys Knight, the Rolling Stones, Parliament Funkadelic, Tony Bennet, and Eric Clapton. It has even been used for state funerals of prominent Newarkers (including Amiri Baraka and Jerry Gant) and weddings that have been featured in the New York Times.

However, Symphony Hall is also a reflection of the city itself. The space hit a sustained period of disinvestment and funding shortages over the last few decades (the space was definitely not neglected). Though the space is in dire need of renovation and capital investment, it is still an active performance and community space.

Taneshia Nash Laird, CEO and President of the venue since 2018, has undertaken an ambitious campaign to bring renewed attention to Symphony Hall and to restore and update the building. She is unique, as she is the only Black woman leading a performing arts center in the state. She is a self-professed entrepreneur, social change agent, and community developer, with a background in economic development and the arts, having led the Arts Council of Princeton and served as a director of economic development in Trenton. She is also an adjunct professor at Drexel University (in their entertainment and arts management program).

Guest:

Taneshia Nash Laird—Taneshia Nash Laird is a social change agent and community developer who centers cultural equity in her work. She is the President and CEO of Newark Symphony Hall, a historic performing arts center located within the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Newark, NJ. Since her appointment in November 2018, she has expanded programming to respond to community needs and announced plans to restore the 1925 vintage concert hall in a $40 million renovation and leverage it for neighborhood revitalization in a process she calls Symphony Works.

Background & Articles:

  • Newark Symphony Hall’s Official Page: here

  • Nonprofit Finance Fund Interview with Taneshia: here

  • CBS Piece on NSH: here

  • “The Soul of Newark Symphony Hall”: here

  • New York Times Profile of Wedding Held in NSH: here

  • Amalia Rodrigues’ Performance at Symphony Hall [believed]: here

Quote: “Science, knowledge, logic and brilliance might be useful tools but they didn’t build highways or civil service systems. Power built highways and civil service systems. Power was what dreams needed, not power in the hand of the dreamer himself necessarily but power put behind the dreamer’s dream by the man who it to put there, power that he termed “executive support”.”—Robert Caro, The Power Broker

We Burnt Our Fields; Now Let's Cultivate Our Crops: An Interview and Conversation with Kai Campbell

Kai Campbell left the world of Newark politics and development to try his hand at a venerable city tradition, food creation and service. Kai was no stranger to this area of work, coming from a long line and tradition of chefs and restaurant managers in his family. He has since flourished and is the impresario behind three newly minted Newark institutions: Walla, a South Asian style burger join; Bragman’s, a decades old Jewish deli in the South Ward; and the Yard, a soon to open outdoor eatery and bar. Kai comes on the pod to discuss how he came to this business, his hopes for the city, and what it will take for more restaurants to flourish.

Guest:

Kai Campbell—Kai Campbell, born and raised in the city of Newark, New Jersey, is what he self-describes as an envisionary, working in distressed urban development. First, as a municipal economist and later running his own shop, Kai has worked in the arena of economic development his entire career, helping to change culture and skylines in urban markets, especially Newark’s. Kai is behind Walla Food and Beverage Group, which oversees the Walla, Bragman’s Delicatessen, and the Yard (all Newark-based food establishments). Kai looks to fundamentally change the trajectory of Newark’s food and culture scene; he and his team aim to provide a standard of service typically not reserved for communities like Newark. He is also launching a new culture brand, Onomatopoeia, a social commentary and exercise platform. Kai, like his parents, is an activist, whose mediums of choice are economics and planning. He is also co-parenting two young girls in Newark.

Background & Articles:

  • Walla’s Official Page: here

  • Bragman’s Deli’s Official Facebook Page: here

  • The Yard’s Official Facebook Page: here

  • Article profiling the Yard: here

Quote: “And mingled with her disbelief and resentment was another feeling, a question. Why hadn’t she spoken that day? Why, in the face of Bellew’s ignorant hate and aversion, had she concealed her own origin? Why had she allowed him to make his assertions and express his misconceptions undisputed? Why, simply because of Clare Kendry, who had exposed her to such torment, had she failed to take up the defense of the race to which she belonged? ene asked these questions, felt them. They were, however, merely rhetorical, as she herself was well aware. She knew their answers, every one, and it was the same for them all. The sardony of it! She couldn't betray Clare, couldn't even run the risk of appearing to defend a people that were being maligned, for fear that that defence might in some infinitesimal degree lead the way to final discovery of her secret. She had to Clare Kendry a duty. She was bound to her by those very ties of race, which, for all her repudiation of them, Clare had been unable to completely sever.“ —Nella Larsen, Passing

What to Eat: Interview and Conversation with Charlie Shelton

What to Eat: Interview and Conversation with Charlie Shelton

Newark has always been a city with a rich food tradition. It's now at the crossroads of maintaining that tradition while expanding into new fields. Charlie Shelton, head chef at Barcade, joins the podcast to talk about what's good to eat, what Newark should do to support its food culture, and what it takes to be a food-centric city. 

Our Plague: Conversations with Newarkers During the COVID19 Crisis

These are strange times, to say the least. Initially, we were concerned about releasing an episode during this crisis, both because our studios were closed and because of the incredible stress and strain Newarkers are under at the moment. However, we decided to invite four guests on to talk about their diverse experiences and how they are coping. Please join us as we speak to Samantha Katehis, Emily Manz, Bryan Epps, and Halashon Sianapar.

[More info and links to come soon]