#whyilovephilly video from Campus Philly’s College Day!
About a week ago, Sophie Hwang and I sat down with one of our favorite people in Philly - Lea Kleinman. Over beer and cookies, we talked about Lea’s involvement in non-profit and education change in Philly.
This year she’s leading the effort to organize Young Involved Philadelphia’s board preparation program, designed to get young professionals ready to serve effectively on non-profit boards. Sophie and I are on her planning team, so we kind’ve just jump right into the conversation.
In the chat, we cover her work with the board prep program, her passion for improving the city’s education system, and fun food spots. The interview ended suddenly when we realized we could make a Midnight Pretzels run. Listen below:
whyilovephilly: Lea Kleinman by Salas Saraiya: Interviews
Lea Kleinman helping build the next generation of Philly’s non-profit leaders. #whyilovephilly
Creating awesomeness at National Mechanics (Photo by Sean M)
If you’ve been to IndyHall anytime in the past 3 years, you’ve undoubtedly met Parker Whitney. Starting as the Hall’s office manager in 2008, Parker has since found his calling as a graphic designer and launched a video game company with Cocoa developer Jake O’Brien.
A couple of weeks ago, Sean M and I sat down with Parker and Jake outside of Mac’s Tavern to discuss their creative process and origin stories. I’ve cut a few segments from this interview and will be posting them in the coming weeks.
In this first clip, Parker discusses how working with Johnny Bilotta and Jake at IndyHall fueled his growth as an artist. The piece starts with Parker talking about his middle and high school days in Houston.
Parker Whitney: Rediscovering Art by Salas Saraiya: Interviews
Parker Whitney finding IndyHall and rediscovering his passion for art. #whyilovephilly
The Anderson Monarchs are a girls soccer team in South Philly - Walter is their coach… this is an amazing and ongoing story. Watch the video. They were nominated by Sports Illustrated as Team of the Year, and Sundance is making a movie. See www.theandersonmonarchs.com and www.soccersistersunited.org - CLICK HERE to donate to this wonderful program.
Brainstorming on a coworking project with Kelani Nichole (Photo by Sean M)
Tight knit, right sized communities that have fun together and get shit done are a Philly staple.
From young professional organizations that that foster civic change and collaboration through beer to neighborhood associations that work to keep the city clean and safe, Philly is a city of communities. And when I think of someone who can pull people together in a dynamic and fun way to produce something awesome, I think of Kelani Nichole.
Doing artistic admin work at the Department of Alternative Affairs
Last week, I sat down with Kelani to discuss some of the projects she’s currently involved with, including:
- BeerCamp - a recently completed all-day event featuring twenty locally sourced and produced homebrews. The next one could be in Kensington, featuring art and zines (!)
- Department of Alternative Affairs - a collaboration between three of Kensington’s artistic spaces, currently in place at City Hall. Listen to the audio clip below for more details.
- Distributed Collectives - curated show on internet art, opening at Little Berlin on August 5th from 6-10pm
- the IndyHall Garden - Tommy the Turtle’s newest friends are vegetables.
- BarCamp 4 - an unconference that is growing in scope and excitement by the year, in November
- Content Strategy Meetup - Coordinate the setup of your website’s design and content. No Lorem Ipsum. A practitioners group.
- PhillyCHI - organizing events for Philly’s UX community
A few choice soundbytes from the interview:
Kelani on the Department of Alternative Affairs by Salas Saraiya: Interviews
The Department of Alternative Affairs (DAAFF) is an experimental, anti-commercial space that highlights the behind the scenes work that art and creative professionals do every day. To apply to spend a day working at the Department of Alternative Affairs, fill out an online application. Or you can just swing by the space, in Rm 116 (East Wing) of City Hall. Do it soon - Doors are closing July 29.
Kelani: Plans for BarCamp 4 by Salas Saraiya: Interviews
BarCamp’s an awesome event that brings together hundreds of people from different creative career paths to have a great time while sharing knowledge.
Kelani Nichole building communities and making shit happen. #whyilovephilly
