In an ever-shifting work environment where any available room has become the office, full-time hours are often spread across multiple part-time jobs, and many entry-level roles require the flexibility to be a public speaker, data scientist, and customer service representative all wrapped into one, it has never been more valuable to be a multi-hyphenate creative. However, with all the boundless opportunity that comes with our fluid working life also comes—at times—an overwhelming number of professional choices to be made. In some ways, the path from a passion for the arts to a sustainable career is harder to plot than ever.
With that in mind, on February 25, 2021, 7:00–8:00 pm EST, the Alliance will bring together four Awards alumni to discuss how they made the journey from arts-loving teens to leaders in their respective fields. In this one-hour panel discussion, which will be hosted on Zoom, Matthew Wyatt (Gold Medal ’04), Sarah Nerboso (American Voices Award ’99), Lisa Nellor Grove (Gold Key ’83), and Jessica Moon (Gold Key ’98) will share their insights, wisdom, and best practices.
Whether you’re a high school student, looking toward college and unsure about the difference between a BA and a BFA; an undergraduate nearing that declaration of major deadline and wondering if turning your creative passion into a career path is the right choice for you; or a recent graduate, trying to spin an arts degree into qualifications for a non-arts-related job opportunity, your concerns will be addressed. From hard-won successes to unexpected, career-defining challenges, our alumni have experienced it all and are ready to candidly share. RSVP for the free event on our Eventbrite page, and read more about panelists below.
About the Panelists
Matt Wyatt is a multi-media artist living and working in Rochester, New Hampshire. His work includes abstract expressionism, collage, and photography. His work has received regional and national attention and has been featured in a variety of venues such as: Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; Art Current in Provincetown, Massachusetts; and The Gatehouse Gallery in Tamworth, New Hampshire.
He studied at the New Hampshire Institute of Art (Manchester, New Hampshire) while pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts and is currently enrolled in Cornell University’s online certificate program, studying digital photography. Wyatt co-founded the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts (Rochester, New Hampshire) in 2011 and has served as a member of the Commission for Arts & Culture (City of Rochester, New Hampshire) since 2013.
Wyatt worked as the Associate Producer and Publicist for the Rochester Opera House from 2016–2020. He now works as the Public Information and Community Engagement Manager for the City of Rochester.
A born-and-bred New Yorker, Sarah Nerboso was raised on a steady diet of Broadway, Buffy, and Bugs Bunny. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a BA in East Asian History and, after a detour into New York’s experimental theater scene, graduated with an MFA in Film from Columbia University. Her screenplay The Adventures of Awesome Girl received Faculty Honors from Columbia and went on to be an Academy Nicholl Fellowship Semifinalist. Her credits include Nick Jr.’s Nella the Princess Knight, Apple TV’s Doug Unplugs, and three seasons of staff writing on DreamWorks Animation’s Harvey Girls Forever! Sarah is currently writing on GREMLINS: SECRETS OF THE MOGWAI, coming to HBO MAX in 2021.
Lisa Nellor Grove is the inaugural Deputy Director of the Obama Presidential Center, a major new $750 million cultural institution that is expected to open on the South Side of Chicago in 2025. In this role, she works closely with the architectural design team and oversees all operational, experiential, and financial planning for this dynamic new institution, as well as its inaugural art program.
Grove was formerly Director and CEO of Telfair Museums, one of the nation’s oldest art museums featuring three architecturally-significant buildings, a collection of 7,000 works of art, and an award-winning exhibitions program that serves more than 200,000 visitors annually. During her six-year tenure, she led the Telfair to new heights, expanding and diversifying its programming and garnering national recognition for the multi-year Slavery and Freedom in Savannah project which reinterpreted the narrative of the historic slave quarters located on one of the museum’s properties to include the stories of the enslaved men, women, and children who lived and worked on the site. Grove also significantly strengthened the Telfair’s financial sustainability, raising record amounts of funding and generating six consecutive years of operating surpluses while increasing the endowment to $30 million.
Prior to joining the Telfair, Grove served as Deputy Director of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, helping to lead the museum from its opening year to become one of the country’s leading contemporary art museums. Grove previously served as a senior strategy consultant at The Monitor Group in Cambridge, MA, as well as a traveling exhibitions project manager and educational workshop coordinator at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Grove attended graduate school in the United Kingdom as a Marshall Scholar and received an MA in History of Art at The Courtauld Institute of Art and an MBA with Distinction in Strategic Management from the University of London’s Imperial College School of Management. She received a BA with Distinction and Honors in American Studies from Stanford University.
Jessica Moon, currently serving as Director of Visual Content Strategy & Compliance at Scholastic Publishers, has held leadership roles in the IP rights industry for almost two decades. At Scholastic, Jessica oversees the central office for licensing compliance and leads strategic governance initiatives at the intersection of business operations, creative workflows, and technology. Passionate about literacy, visual storytelling, and typography, Jessica is known as a collaborative and innovative leader. She’s committed to simplifying and decluttering business processes to improve operational efficiencies and defining and implementing compliance standards that reduce business risk and achieve cost savings. Jessica reads every day.
The Alumni Career Panel is on February 25, 2021, 7:00–8:00 pm EST. RSVP for the free event on our Eventbrite page.