Lauren Wolk is the Associate Director at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth, MA. Her work there involves public relations, educational outreach, development, and programming.

She has also worked in community development, publishing, and education. (details below)

For information about the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, please visit www.cultural-center.org

Biography

Lauren Wolk graduated from Brown University in 1981 with a degree in English and American Literature and a concentration in Creative Writing. Since then she has worked as, among other things, a writer with the Battered Women’s Project of the St. Paul American Indian Center, a senior editor with Nelson Publishing in Toronto, a freelance editor and writer, a magazine feature writer, a high school English and Creative Writing teacher at Sturgis Charter School, Assistant Director of the Cape Cod Writers’ Center, and now Associate Director at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod.

Wolk has taught poetry and fiction to writers of all ages and abilities. She focuses on the use of keen observation and fresh language; the creation of strong characters, dialogue, and a sense of place; how to get started and how to complete a work; how to be inspired and energized by one’s own work; and the importance of “twoness” in any written work—layers beneath the surface and surprises around the corner, for both writer and reader.

EDUCATION

B.A., 1981, Brown University, English & American Literature, Concentration in Creative Writing


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

May 2007-Present
Associate Director, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, MA

Responsible for working with other staff to plan and execute programs (classes, exhibits, performances, conferences, private functions), development, facilities operation, community and public relations, communications, outreach, and long-range planning.

April 2006-October 2006
Assistant Director, Cape Cod Writers’ Center, Osterville, MA

This part-time position was created by the Board of Directors and funded by a special grant to address a short-term need for additional staff. Responsibilities included grant writing; events/programs/services coordination and media relations; conference coordination; programs for young writers; distribution of the cable television program Books and the World and interviewing featured authors.

2000-2004
Teacher, English and Creative Writing, Sturgis Charter Public School, Hyannis, MA

Designed English III and Creative Writing curricula, taught students at all grade levels (9-12), co-authored application for acceptance into International Baccalaureate Organization (approved), completed training in IBO implementation. Co-leader of committee on non-coercive discipline. Faculty Advisor for Writers’ Group, Women’s Group, Gay/Straight Alliance, and Diversity Committee. Organized and conducted a series of seminars on mental and physical health issues and a full day of workshops for the entire student body and faculty, involving over 20 speakers/presenters from across the Cape, on issues related to diversity.

1988-2000
Freelance Writer and Editor

Clients included such publishers as Addison-Wesley, Houghton Mifflin, Nelson Canada, and OWL Magazine.

1984-1988
Senior Editor, Language Arts (1987-1988), Editor, Language Arts (1985-1987), Promotion Assistant (1984-1985), Nelson Canada, Scarborough, Ontario

As an editor, was responsible for the creation of language arts textbooks and ancillary materials, including literary anthologies, from planning through production. Worked with educational consultants and program authors, acquisition editors, production editors, and marketing staff to develop and promote materials for grades K-12. Wrote text as needed.

1982-1984
Community Education Consultant, Etobicoke Social Development Council, Weston, Ontario

Organized, publicized, and conducted seminars, lectures, and other educational events on topics of interest to the community.

1981-1982
Research Coordinator and Staff Writer, Saint Paul American Indian Center, St. Paul, Minnesota

In a one-year, government-funded position, worked with social service professionals to improve treatment for victims of domestic violence in Minnesota’s Native American communities. To this end, wrote Minnesota’s American Indian Battered Women: The Cycle of Oppression, a cultural awareness training manual for non-native professionals.


ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Everything deserves to be useful.  Even “junk” deserves a second chance. I have found that discarded materials, even bits of rusted metal found in the gutters and shards of broken glass, can be beautiful in the right setting, the right context, and in the company of other things lost or overlooked. It is a challenge and an adventure to assemble such materials and make them into art that is interesting, beautiful, whimsical, sometimes functional, sometimes ornamental, always better than it was before its second incarnation. The world is full of unappreciated materials that belong not in a landfill but in a unique creation that has a place in someone’s life, a story to tell, and a contribution to make.

References, awards, and freelance teaching and writing credits upon request.