Jacob Watson

Experience

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  History Alive!

  Jul 2007 - Aug 2009

  Actor / Historian

  Collaborated with playwright and directors to research/workshop theatre based on New England history. Performed shows three times daily; shared history through dramatic improvisations with audiences.

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  Independent Consultant

  May 2010 - now

  Facilitator, Education Consultant, Director/Producer

  * Facilitate strategic planning and program design for social sector orgs* Lead workshops, communities of practice related to arts, learning, and justice* Design and evaluate learning and engagement initiatives* Produce/direct plays, musicals, and community events

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  Creative Directions of Illinois

  Oct 2010 - Jul 2013

  Arts Education Consultant

  Assist with development of arts integration projects & drama residencies.

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  Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health

  Jan 2011 - Jan 2017

  Co-Founder & Director of Creative Capacity Building, FYI Performance Company

  Formerly "For Youth Inquiry: Performance Health Collective." Served as Creative Capacity Building Coordinator, developing adult education and training materials around performance-based health education. - Work to collectively create plays and curriculum for youth to incite healthy conversations about sex and sexual violence.- Direct & perform the FYI plays in schools and community centers; facilitate creative capacity building workshops for non-arts educators.

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  Redmoon

  Apr 2011 - Jan 2014

  Teaching Artist, Designer

  Mentored diverse youth in creation of large-scale performance spectacle; teach weekly 6th grade classes in spectacle arts, integrated with social studies curriculum.

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  Urban Gateways

  Sept 2011 - Jan 2017

  Teaching Artist

  Teach K-12 students in diverse in school and after school environments across Chicagoland. Collaborate with other educators to design original arts integrated lessons and units. Focused on theatre and visual arts instruction. Lead professional development for other teaching artists on innovative curriculum design strategies.

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  Albany Park Theater Project

  Sept 2011 - Jun 2013

  Teaching Artist

  Co-teach weekly creative drama classes for youth ages 5-12 at Eugene Field park in Albany Park

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  Metropolis Performing Arts Centre

  Jan 2012 - Jan 2014

  Teaching Artist & Director

  Directed productions of The Musical Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Seussical, Jr. for actors of all ages. Collaborated with music director, choreographer, and team of designers to cast, rehearse, and mount full musical productions with youth ensemble. Led acting and movement classes alongside team of teaching artists.

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  Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University

  May 2012 - Jan 2014

  Teaching Artist Mentor

  ArtsXChange is an innovative arts education initiative of the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, moving into its third year. Designed as a professional development program for educators, ArtsXChange (AXC) combines principals found in arts integration, aesthetic education and art education into a unique methodology aimed at enhancing teacher practice in creating meaningful, engaging and educational connections for students to and with the arts.

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  Columbia College Chicago

  Jul 2013 - Jul 2017

  Managed cadre of 20 teaching artists and implemented over than 50 arts & media-integrated residencies per year in schools across Chicago. Structured in-depth partnerships and supported measurement, evaluation, and reporting efforts of $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Arts Integration Mentorship Project (Project AIM) exists to explore the relationships between arts and academic learning, with the intention of creating opportunities for deeper, more meaningful, and more personally-relevant learning experiences in the classroom. Classrooms are transformed into studios and performance spaces where students are engaged in a powerful learning cycle in and through the arts. Show less Designed training, coaching, and support for digital media artists working alongside CPS classroom teachers as part of a $3.5 million i3 (Investing in Innovation) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Convergence Academies initiative aims to raise student achievement, increase students’ and teachers’ 21st century technology and media skills, and build students’ college and career readiness skills. The project advances youth learning by building media literacy and digital media skills through real life inquiry-based projects in and out of the classroom. Show less

  • Project AIM Manager

    Mar 2014 - Jul 2017

  • Coordinator of Digital Pedagogy & Mentorship

    Jul 2013 - Aug 2015
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  Erasing the Distance

  Jan 2015 - Jan 2017

  Facilitator and Designer

  Designed and built environments to support mental health dialogue through theatre performance. Led post-performance conversations on mental health topics.

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  Lyric Opera of Chicago

  Apr 2016 - Jun 2021

  Animateur/Program Facilitator

  Facilitate weekly sessions with community groups across Chicago to shift public consciousness through the creation and production of original musical performances. Lead rehearsals for playmaking process, alongside team of artists and social workers. Community Created Performances are original music theater works created and performed by community groups using a core element of opera: storytelling through song. Participating groups throughout Chicago, regardless of background or experience, will create and develop these original works which will be driven by the participants and will be supported by Lyric Opera professional artists and staff. Show less

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  Harvard University

  Jan 2018 - Jan 2019

  Learning Lab Media Fellow, Bok Center for Teaching and Learning

  Activate new media and inclusive teaching practices in pedagogy and course design at Harvard University. Collaborate with faculty, teaching fellows, and staff across university departments to foster innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Design and lead seminar "Crafting your Teaching Persona" for graduate instructors.

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  Harvard University Graduate School of Education

  Jun 2018 - Jan 2019

  Produced literature summaries, case studies, tools, and frameworks for the Idea into Action (I2A) project. I2A refers to the quest to translate ideas (principles, plans, good intentions, etc.) into action on the ground. This project asks: (1) Why does idea into action so commonly prove so hard to accomplish? (2) Are there significantly more reliable ways to achieve idea into action, including attention to the trade-offs in time and other costs involved and how they might be addressed in practical settings? Show less Led stakeholder interviews; distilled, analyzed, and communicated key insights from qualitative survey data. Produced literature summaries, case studies, tools, and frameworks. The Arts as Civic Commons (ArtC) project explores how contemporary artists and their artistic practices provoke and inspire us to reframe the way we understand, interpret, and engage the uncertain and complex world we live in. We believe that artists who investigate pressing questions and curiosities about our world in and through their work create what we argue is a civic space for dialogue and action. Show less

  • Research Assistant, Idea into Action (Project Zero)

    Oct 2018 - Jan 2019

  • Research Assistant, Arts as Civic Commons (Project Zero)

    Jun 2018 - Jan 2019
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  UpStart

  Aug 2019 - now

  This role oversees UpStart’s experiential and live learning experiences. This involves designing cohort learning experiences for social entrepreneurs, leading workshops for Network organizations, stewarding curriculum development and resource management, support for coaches and mentors, and serving as a general facilitation content expert for the organization. Oversee and facilitate growth stage programs for social entrepreneurs seeking to impact Jewish life across North America. Apply frameworks of design thinking and adaptive leadership alongside individual and group coaching. These intensive programs equip participants with practical skills to identify and launch bold initiatives that meet their constituents’ evolving needs.

  • Senior Director, Experiential Learning

    Jul 2023 - now

  • Director, Growth Stage Programming

    Apr 2022 - Jul 2023

  • Associate Director, Change Initiatives

    Nov 2021 - Apr 2022

  • Facilitator, Change Accelerator

    Aug 2019 - Nov 2021
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  Convergence Design Lab

  Sept 2019 - now

  Researcher / Education Specialist

  Produce impact reports for youth media organizations; analyze surveys, conduct interviews and focus groups, synthesize qualitative data, and conceptualize and write summary of youth learning + community impact.