MACS as a matter of In FACT

Board Members in this photo (head of table to left):  Patricia Burch, Constance English, Cassandra Allen, Saundra Gillard Davis, TAHIRA, Gordon Boelter, Esq., Coniqua Abdul-Malik, Rita Moonsammy, Queen Nur, Herman English

Photo taken by board member:  Alonzo Jennings.

In FACT:  Innovative Solutions through Folk Art, Culture and Tradition 

is a cultural sustainability organization that was incorporated as a non-profit in New Jersey on July 8, 2011.  In FACT, Inc. is a social enterprise with a mission to perpetuate and preserve folklife traditions and to use these traditions to sustain communities and affect social change.  Through matriculating my Masters in Cultural Sustainability at Goucher College, this is how it came to be:

1.  Fall 2010 - Cultural Sustainability - Rory Turner, PhD.
Developed SCATTS (Sustaining Culture and Tradition Through Storytelling) as a Groundwork Project that involves fieldwork, folk arts workshops and a concert & exhibition.

2. Fall 2010 - Financial Skills - Pat Ouerdnik.
Developed business plan for non-profit organization, originally titled Caught By the Tale.  The business plan houses SCATTS.


3. Winter 2011 - Social Entrepreneurship - Rebbeca Saltman and Tiffany Espinosa.
Developed social enterprise concept and national scope of company.  Changed name to In FACT:  Innovative Solutions through Folk Art, Culture and Tradition.


4.  Winter 2011 - Cultural Documentation - Harold Anderson, PhD.
Developed plan for fieldwork and learned documentation techniques.  Fieldwork is the first phase of the SCATTS project.

5.  Communications 2011 - Communications - Kate Pippin
Developed six-month Communications Plan moving organization to next level, including strategies for 1st board meeting, and day-to-day priorities.

6. Fall 2010 - Leadership - Ross PhD

Learned techniques in leadership that framed selection of board, and increased my skills as President/CEO of company.

7.  Summer 2011 - Grantwriting - Melissa McCloud, PhD
Wrote and won Brimstone Grant from the National Storytelling Network for the SCATTS project.


8.  Fall 2011 -  Cultural Partnerships - Rita Moonsammy PhD and Amy Skillman PhD
Developed cultural partnership plan for second program: Community VOICE Circles:  VOICE (Victorious Outreach Igniting Civic Engagement).  Gained additional cultural partners for In FACT.


9.  Fall 2011- Field Lab - Andy Kolovos, PhD
Conducting initial fieldwork for SCATTS program.  Thomas Carroll PhD is the fieldwork consultant on the SCATTS project.  More to come....

10.  Fall 2011- Cultural Policy - Robert Baron, PhD
Writing papers and studying discourse on Cultural policy that has significance to policy and civic engagement initiatives of In FACT.  Conducted an interview with Joyce Goldsmith, Burlington County Division of Parks Cultural Coordinator for 1st paper.  More to come....


The faculty and administrative staff of Goucher provide multiple networking opportunities that are advantageous to my development as a cultural worker and to the establishment of the corporation.

In FACT is on the move with a dynamic board that knows how to give PRAISE:
Passionate
Resourceful
Action-oriented
Innovative
Strategic
Energized

Visit our website:  In FACT, Inc.

For more information about the developments from each course click on the MACS Course Work link above.