Chelsea Lemon Fetzer: Executive Director,The Create Collective The height of the economic crisis might not seem like an ideal time to launch a nonprofit—but Chelsea Lemon Fetzer didn’t let the recession stand in her way. Along with co-founder Maril Ortiz, Fetzer formed The Create Collective, an organization that facilitates collaborations between professional artists and community-based spaces to offer free, high-quality arts programs to people of all ages and means. Youth development and identity, social justice, job creation, crime and safety are just a few of the issues Fetzer’s programs explore. Before starting The Create Collective—her first experience in the nonprofit sector—Fetzer developed and led a workshop series with her father, Ralph Lemon, called the Memory Project. She went on to teach undergraduate literature and writing courses at Syracuse University. She’s currently a volunteer for the New York Writer’s Coalition and leads weekly creative writing workshops for LGBT homeless youth, augmenting her desire to make a positive impact on the community. “The most rewarding part of this work has been creating relationships between artists and everyday people. Both perspectives are changed as a result. Again and again we witness the transformative possibility of these collaborations,” Fetzer says. “Relative to the usual life span of non-profits, we are still a very young organization. Optimism and energy are on our side.”
Women At The Helm 2011
In the Arts, Activism, Government and Human Rights, These Out Nonprofit Leaders Create Positive Change Every Day.
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