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Joel Nitzberg
Joel Nitzberg
01:30

Joel Nitzberg

New England Center for Arts & Technology (NECAT)

Boston, MA USA

"When I allowed myself the enjoyment of the journey without the fear of reaching a dead end, it was fun."

Career Roadmap

Joel's work combines: Art, Education, and Teaching / Mentoring

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Day In The Life

Director of Programs

I oversee daily operations, establish relationships with partners, and develop processes to improve current programs.

My Day to Day

I identify with being a Community Educator, working in concert with multiple stakeholders to provide educational programs and experiences that are transformative for families, individual, and communities. I managed program development of this start-up job training and education organization, helping create a "whole-learner" orientation, balancing culinary arts content with personal development (soft skills), and tapping into the strengths of each individual within this learning community.

Skills & Education

Advice for getting started

I experienced three years of unemployment early in my career. Even though that was a scary time, it was also the most liberating. I took that time to explore and focus on passions that I had without the expectation of financial gain. This time in my life made me realize that nothing is ever permanent and don't expect things to be.

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Environmental Studies

    CUNY Queens College

  • Graduate Degree

    Social Work

    CUNY Hunter College

  • Graduate Degree

    Social Work

    Cambridge College

Life & Career Milestones

I've taken a lot of twists and turns

  • 1.

    Grew up in a poor area of New York with a “dysfunctional” family; his parents separated four times when he was young.

  • 2.

    Says that emotional pain can be a positive thing; he thinks that experiencing hardships as a child helped him build resiliency.

  • 3.

    He majored in geology in college, then switched over to art and communications; he says cameras were his life.

  • 4.

    His first job was at a workshop for developmentally disabled adults; that inspired him to go back to school and get his Master of Social Work degree at Hunter College.

  • 5.

    Years later, after he’d tried many different things, he got into community education and the passion hit him like a “lightning bolt.”

  • 6.

    Now he works at NECAT, where he helps to train Boston’s inner-city community members in the culinary arts.

  • 7.

    He’s never stayed at the same job for more than seven years at a time, which he says has given him the opportunity to explore different paths.

  • 8.

    Says it’s a lifelong process to “figure one’s self out,” but he feels like he’s just about reached that point.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Myself:

    I'm never going to find a job.

  • How I responded:

    I experienced three years of unemployment early in my career. Even though that was a scary time, it was also the most liberating. I took that time to explore and focus on passions that I had without the expectation of financial gain. This time in my life made me realize that nothing is ever permanent and don't expect things to be.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

Click to expand

  • I grew up in a very poor area in New York.

  • I came from a family that was dysfunctional. My parents separated 4 times which made me a mess.