New Arts and Outreach Coordinator - joint hire with E'town!
Laurie House, a filmmaker and former Ted Talks Producer, has recently come on board in the Social Center's newly created position of Arts and Outreach Coordinator. Director Arin Burdo says, “Laurie is an amazing find and we are thrilled to have her capable and creative spirit on our team. By adding this position, we will be able to bring more arts and cultural events to Elizabethtown and spread the word about all that we offer to our community .”
Laurie’s position is unique in that she is also partnering in the development of a municipal website for Elizabethtown, along with the Northern Forest Center, Elizabethtown Social Center and community members. Town Supervisor Cathy Reusser says of the new website, “We felt from the start that Elizabethtown will greatly benefit from a clear, functional municipal website. It’s also an opportunity to highlight the strengths and attractions of Elizabethtown in a way that unites our residents around those positive features and simultaneously attracts would-be residents and visitors.”
Beginning with film school in the 1990s, Laurie worked her way up through the film industry from Production Assistant to Film Director and Producer, focusing primarily on documentaries. She was the Video Producer and Creative Lead at Ted Talks’ in-house theater in Manhattan, where she directed hundreds of Ted Talks. She has also produced numerous videos for nonprofits. She recently led the transformation of Whitcomb’s (part of the Whallonsburg Grange) into a multi-use community center with a wide range of well-attended arts and social issue events.
The idea for this hybrid position came after [1] the Social Center conducted a community survey as part of their 2022 strategic planning process. Among a list of options, community members ranked a desire for a “hub/website for all Elizabethtown Area Activities and Events” as number one. The position is funded by the Social Center, a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), bed taxes and Elizabethtown.
Laurie has lived in the North Country for a total of ten years. “There is so much to love about Elizabethtown – the businesses, local recreation, natural beauty, hidden parks, volunteering opportunities, loyal residents… I am thrilled to be part of the many efforts to make it all that it can be. I encourage people to let me know what programming they’d like to see at the Social Center and what types of information they’d like to see on the Elizabethtown hub.”
Laurie can be reached at laurie@elizabethtownsocialcenter.org