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Leadership Development Program Fellow June 2012 - present Selected for a 15-month agency-wide leadership development program designed to develop and maximize leadership potential for the Library's promising future leaders. |
In 2008, author, journalist and philanthropist Barbara Goldsmith approached the New York Public Library with a problem. Over the course of 50 years the best selling author had accumulated hundreds of boxes of records containing thousands of manuscripts, correspondence, reviews, and personal papers. As a Library board member she believed the records had value to the Library, if someone could get a handle on what they comprised. And her for personally, how could she make some sense of this large cache of records? To find important documents she still needed and to know what should be donated to the Library and what should remain in her personal archive?
The Library contracted Jason to manage what would become the Barbara Goldsmith Collection. Jason approached this project as two distinct archival tasks - to create the framework for a public collection at the New York Public Library that would be accessed in the future, and to create a working personal archive for Ms. Goldsmith in the present. The first task was to research Ms. Goldsmith's life, to realize what she had accomplished and how the records documented it. Working closely with Ms. Goldsmith, we developed a plan for each type of record: was it appropriate for the Library? If so, when should it be donated? How would she best be able to gain access to documents she needed? No records were overlooked in this comprehensive process.
The resulting catalog of approximately 8,000 records now belongs to the Library. Numerous boxes of records have already been transferred there along with analysis of what they contain and how they are of benefit to the Library in the future. In addition, a private archive has been organized for Ms. Goldsmith to allow her to find what she needs from her personal papers. The working relationship became so strong that Ms. Goldsmith employed Jason as her personal archivist.
Jason has worked on several other archival management projects.
Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Yeshiva University
New York, NY - 2007
Developed an archival and records management plan for Yeshiva University's Department of Communications and Public Affairs. Department holds Yeshiva publications dating back to the 1930's; work created records retention policy to eliminate clutter and enabled documents to be used for research and reference.
Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Archive and Library
New York, NY - 2006-2007
Worked with the New York-based curator of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame to build the basis of the future Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Archive and Library. Collected, appraised, cataloged and assessed preservation needs of material from musicians, record executives, recording studios and rock journalists in the New York area.
Museo Judio de Sosua
Sosua, Dominican Republic - 2006
Created the archive of the Museo Judio de Sosua in Sosua, Dominican Republic. This museum owns documents related to Jewish presence in the Dominican, a collection that had not been looked at for close to 60 years. Through grant funding Jason was sent to preserve, organize and save these documents.
New-York Historical Society Prints, Photographs & Architectural Collections
New York, NY - 2006
Processed the John Albok Collection for the New-York Historical Society. Albok photographed street scenes in Manhattan for over 50 years, but his work had never been accessible at NYHS before Jason created the finding aid.
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Lincoln and New York American History Workshop New-York Historical Society |
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"Compellingly informative" -
New York Times
"Immersive" - AP "Well worth a visit" - NBC "Ambitious and generally excellent" - New York Observer |
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The American History Workshop approached the project as an opportunity to deviate from recapitulations of Lincoln's life and speeches, and analyze his complicated relationship with the nation's most important city, New York. Lincoln only visited New York six times in his life, and never for more than two days at a time. Yet New York made Abraham Lincoln the man we know today. New York's media power brokers elevated him to the Presidency, the newspapers and businessmen influenced his policy while in office, and its citizens led the apotheosis of him in death. New York defined the Lincoln of public consciousness and American memory.
The resulting exhibition has not only pushed the boundaries of Lincoln scholarship, but also revolutionized the public's understanding of New York during the Civil War. The city contested Lincoln in every manner possible: decrying his qualifications, debating his policies, even spilling into the streets in anger over his actions. In the course of his controversial Presidency, Lincoln's policies influenced the social and industrial landscape of the city. Through artifacts, imagery, text, interactive kiosks, film and audio, the exhibition has educated and inspired visitors, and received critical and popular acclaim.
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Exhibit Coordinator The Holocaust By Bullets: The Mass Shootings of Jews in the Ukraine 1941-1944 2008, Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, New York Adapted from the successful exhibit at the Memorial de la Shoah in Paris, this exhibit uncovers the horrific details of massacres in the Ukraine by Nazi forces. Born out of research done by Father Pierre Desbois, the exhibit text was re-written and furniture re-fabricated for display in New York. |
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Curator Baghdad Revisited: Iraqi Jewish Artifacts from Private Collections 2006, American Sephardi Federation, New York Displayed at the Center for Jewish History, NY, "Baghdad Revisited" introduced visitors to Iraqi-Jewish culture and recalled Baghdad as a nexus of Jewish life, before Iraq's Jews were forced into exile over the course of the 20th century. For more information, visit the American Sephardi Federation Website and click on the Back to Babylon graphic. |
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The 50th Anniversary of the Archdiocese of Miami Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Miami. 2008, St. Thomas University Library & Museum, Miami Gardens. Jason served as director of the exhibit film. |
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Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America Tracing the evolution of the Chinese restaurant and representations of Chinese-Americans. Originally at Museum of Chinese in the Americas, New York. April 5 - September 10, 2006, Atwater Kent Museum, Philadelphia. Jason served as Project Registrar. |
In 2006, Yeshiva University purchased Resource 25 (R25), a space analysis and scheduling software created by CollegeNet. The program allowed Yeshiva to build an archive of campus space and then run analytics to determine how best to schedule classes and events in those spaces. However, with every new software comes challenges on use and integration. At Yeshiva, a highly decentralized university with four campuses in the New York area, the plan to use R25 collapsed soon after it began. Institutional reluctance to change and lack of understanding of the software's potential left it virtually unused for three years.
In 2009, Jason was approached by Yeshiva's Office of Communications and Public Affairs to revive the R25 project. The mandate was clear: implement this software and make sure it was used to its best capacity to help save time, effort, money, and resources. Jason applied his archival management skills and project management experience to the task. He immediately identified the core problem at the University: lack of trust in the system. Without fully trusting that the database was clean, how could schedulers trust they were assigning the right room and resources to the right events? If the database was incomplete, then it would not eliminate double-bookings like it was supposed to? Users fell back on relying on pen, paper and phone calls instead of using the system.
Jason led a task force to build a comprehensive index of University spaces and resources in R25. He laid out a project timeline for building the spaces in the system, training staff, building new workflow that incorporated the program, identifying what aspects of the program could best suit Yeshiva's needs, and the creation of a centralized public university events calendar gives students, faculty and staff a more comprehensive picture of university events and space usage. In the process he has led the creation of a revamped Office of Campus Events that operates exclusively in R25. And now he is staying on at Yeshiva in a consulting role to lead the University as it upgrades to newer versions of R25 and integrates more users into the system.
Testimonial from Yeshiva University:
Jason has been an incredible asset to the University. His vision, analysis, decision-making and leadership have been instrumental to the implementation of R25 at Yeshiva. Without his skills, this project would never succeed.
