E D U C A T O R D O S S I E R
Liza Jessie Peterson teaches students to discover and channel self expression through poetry, short stories, monologues, and dramatic performance.
EXPERIENCE
2009-2011: Friends of Island Academy Director of Outreach; Director of Youth Leadership; Senior Youth Advocacy Specialist; Classroom Educator
As Director of Outreach I coordinated and conducted outreach to both adolescent boys and girls while detained at Rikers Island, assessing their social service and academic needs prior to release in order to offer resources for them access upon returning back to their community. Connecting with the youth and forging relationships with them while incarcerated increases chances of them walking in our doors for assistance and advocacy upon release. While out at Rikers Island I conducted poetry and monologue workshops with the adolescent girls at Rose M. Singer Facility. These workshops helped to foster self-expression while simultaneously forging a relationship with the girls.
As Director of Youth Leadership I oversaw the process of taking young members with strong leadership potential and putting them through a rigorous 8 week training course that gives them the tools to be youth leaders in their community and empowers them to conduct life skills presentations and inspire their peers.
As Senior Youth Advocacy Specialist I accompanied youth to court in all five boroughs of New York to advocate on their behalf and report the progress they have made since returning home from jail and participating in our program.
As Classroom Educator I taught GED prep classes in the morning and facilitated Women’s group every Wednesday afternoon. Women’s Group is a self-empowerment group for the young women in our program which addresses issues specific to young adolescent women.
2008-2009: Board of Education Substitute Teacher: Austin H. MacCormick, Island Academy at Rikers Island
Taught English Language Arts and Social Studies Pre-GED classes to incarcerated adolescent boys at Rikers Island. I was a permanent substitute and had the same class for all subjects for two consecutive semesters.
2007-Present: Teachers & Writers Collaborative Writer In Residence
Facilitated creative writing and poetry workshops throughout various public middle and high schools. At the completion of each residency, students’ work from the workshop is edited and compiled into a Teachers & Writers published anthology with enough copies for each student to receive their own anthology.
2001- 2007: Friends of Island Academy: Outreach Coordinator, Women’s Group Lead Facilitator and Urban Folktale Facilitator
As Outreach Facilitator I did pre-release outreach with adolescent girls incarcerated at Rikers Island Rose M. Singer Facility to inform them of the services available to them upon their release. I also conducted poetry and “Alive and Free” life skills workshops with the girls which help to foster relationships and bolster the possibility of the young women coming to Friends of Island Academy. I also conducted the aforementioned workshops at The Department of Juvenile Justice Bridges Youth Facility
As Women’s Group Lead Facilitator I developed the curriculum and was the key point person responsible for facilitating “The Women’s Group,” a weekly health and wellness workshop for adolescent girls at Friends of Island Academy where specific issues pertaining to young adult women were addressed, discussed and debated. Topics included: mother-daughter relationships, body image, sexual health, racism, sexism, self-esteem, anger management and more. The curriculum also encompassed creative arts classes including quilting, photography, painting, poetry, waist beading and field trips to expose and broaden their social/cultural experiences.
As Urban Folktale Facilitator I created, facilitated and directed “The Urban Folktale Project” curriculum where an original play was written and performed by the young women at Friends of Island Academy - an aftercare program for adolescents who were involved in the criminal justice system. This original play was performed in a New York City Theater. It was a rigorous theater workshop where the young women created characters, plots and themes based upon their most pressing social issues that they were facing as young, formally incarcerated women growing up in an urban environment.
1998-2001: The Waterways Project, Consultant / Artist in Residence
Conducted poetry workshops at various middle and high school sites in NYC where students wrote original poetry and created personal “chat” books. Due to the overwhelming success and response from the students, Liza’s residency was extended for three years at Rikers Island Academy High School for adolescent boys ages 16-18.
1998-2000: University Settlement, Consultant
Conducted “The Urban Folktale Project” workshop with teenagers where students explored issues of racism, sexism, classism, institutional power, and heterosexism through improvisational acting exercises. As a class thesis, the students produced an original culturally relevant educational Urban Folktale play in two-acts.
1998: Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Consultant
Conducted creative writing / poetry workshops for the reading and language art programs in various Hempstead public schools
1998: Dr. White Community Center After School Program, Lead Teacher and Art Curriculum Specialist
Lead creative arts activities that promoted literacy
Created The Urban Folktale Project – a play development project where students ages 8 – 12 wrote and performed original work they developed in class
Facilitated a spoken word workshop where students wrote their own books of poetry.
EDUCATION
Georgetown University Graduate/BA International Relations
National Shakespeare Conservatory
Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting
Acting Coach: Susan Batson (since 1995)
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
2004 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow
Recipient of Russell Simmons Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation grant for the Urban Folktales Project