Departing Directors

New Program Director: Eric Maxen

In my first few days at In-Sight I met students, volunteers, Board members, neighbors and the curious. They dropped in with donations, questions, film to develop or just because they were in the neighborhood. The door, for the most part, is always open. On the surface, each came for different reasons but my guess is that part of what draws each of them to In-Sight is the sense of community that exists here. As director, I am In-Sight’s only full-time employee. This was the case for Sara as well. Despite this, and help from a part-time assistant director, In-Sight continues to achieve what it set out to do now 15 years ago – give young people a creative outlet and voice through the art of photography. This is no small feat. There’s fundraising to do – the auction is only a part of it, classes to schedule and teach, students to recruit, volunteers to coordinate, supplies to order, marketing to administer, bills to pay and many other tasks. This is not a job for one person. An African proverb (made famous by a former first lady) comes to mind, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I think anyone who has been involved with In-Sight, even someone with a short-term history like myself, would argue that this concept no doubt applies to In-Sight, perhaps in more ways than one. So many people have given and continue to give their time, their money and their energy to In-Sight and together they have formed a community dedicated to seeing In-Sight achieve its mission.

It’s a privilege for me to join this community and be a part of something that so many have given so much to.

In the coming months and years I plan to use my background in digital photography and journalism to expand on In-Sight’s offerings. I would like to see a class that teaches digital story telling so students can share community stories that matter to them. I would also like to continue to explore collaborations with like-minded organizations regionally, nationally, and internationally. From my recent photo teaching work in India, I know that student photographers around the world would love to exchange images or otherwise communicate with students here in the Brattleboro area.

photo by Eric Maxen

Above all, I would like to expand In-Sight’s reach and involve more students and more volunteers. My intense belief in In-Sight’s mission is motivation alone to achieve this, but knowing there is the support of an entire community of people, I’m certain, will further energize my efforts. Photo by Eric Maxen

New Assistant Program Director: Leah Mae Dyjak

One morning I woke up and just decided that I would be a photographer. That same afternoon I found myself a camera and started making pictures. There was no photography program at the high school I attended in Springfield area of Massachusetts, so I just spent the time shooting and developing pictures at a local drug store. It was not until I wandered into a photography class at Greenfield Community College that I realized I was really connected to and inspired by picture making. I spent the next couple of years working my way through college, taking art classes and earning my associates degree, while staying involved in the creative community I had built in the Pioneer Valley.