Read a note from CUP's new Executive Director
To the CUP Community:
I’m so excited to be CUP’s new Executive Director. Over the past four years, I’ve had the privilege of working with many organizations and leaders to support NYC communities. Among them have been young immigrants looking to secure their future in the United States; women and TGNCNBI people fighting gender discrimination at work; and young people navigating the court system.
With each collaboration I’ve led, I’ve seen our work serve as a unique and vital form of support for the organizers, advocates, and directly impacted people working to shape the policies, services, and systems in New York City’s communities. I’m passionate about the way our work has and will continue to make important information clear, thoughtful, and representative of the vision and needs of marginalized communities, and contribute to more equitable policies, services, and systems.
With the excitement of this new chapter and the strength of 20+ years of collaboration to guide us, we’re looking forward to:
evolving our community engaged design programs and project-based learning programs to further involve directly impacted people and students
offering organizers and advocates new formats and strategies to best reach and support the marginalized communities they work with
supporting more artists and designers with opportunities that support their ambitions to develop and lead more equitable practices in their personal and professional lives
working with new community partners and schools, in NYC and beyond, to use community engaged design and project-based learning to strengthen their organizing work and curricula
inviting the CUP community into our work with public workshops and events
I’m grateful and inspired by this opportunity. Thank you (so much!) to the CUP team and board for their support, care, and encouragement as I settle into this position. And you—our community of collaborators, funders, and supporters—for being here with us. This is one of the best communities I’ve ever known and I look forward to working with you every day.
If you’d like to hear more about what’s ahead for CUP and how we can work together, you can connect with me directly via email here. I can’t wait to talk about what you’re working on and what we can create together.
Smiling from Gowanus,
Pilar