Hello, Second Act Community!

We hope this message finds you well. It’s hard to believe how quickly time is flying this year— here at Second Act we have been incredibly busy expanding our organization and fostering community development. In this newsletter, we are updating you on our mentorship program, community outings, social media and volunteer opportunities, and our newest partnerships!

Mentorship Program

In the last quarter, we have also welcomed several new mentors to the program:

• Teddy Watler, J.D. Candidate at Yale Law School

• Sophie Blue, Managing Director of New York Theatre Ballet

• Nancy Lemenager, Broadway Actress and Professor at Pace University

• Micaelina Ritschl, Associate Manager at Minted

• Matthew Gattozzi, Entrepreneur, Freelance Photographer and Videographer

• Annabel Graham, Marketing Undergraduate Student at Fordham University

• David Barocio, Executive Director of Advancement for Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma Foundation

Social Media Opportunity

We are curious to learn more about our Mentors and know that those on our Instagram page would too. Our Social Media Team is pursuing a “Day in the Life” IG series! Interested in taking over our Instagram Stories for the day? Please reply to this email stating your interest and we’ll provide more information.

Events

2A Night Out

Second Act organized a discounted ticket order to attend Mark Morris Dance Group’s “Look of Love” performance on Saturday, March 23rd for some of our community members in NYC. The event was a huge success, and we look forward to hosting more in-person and virtual events in the future! Let us know if there are upcoming events you would like to be considered for another 2A Night Out.

Organizational Updates

Welcoming Sabrina Karlin - Director of Events

We are thrilled to introduce Sabrina Karlin, who is now serving as Second Act’s Director of Events. Sabrina has a BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch, where she also won the Anna and Peter Zenger Award for Outstanding Journalism. She has interned at NYCB, worked as a copywriter at Zola, and is now working for The New York Times.
Sabrina joined Second Act as a Mentor in 2022 and has helped numerous Mentees throughout her time. In this new role, she will help us host more in-person and virtual events for the 2A community.

Please feel free to reply to this email with event suggestions that you would like to see!

501(c)(3) Status

We are so excited to share that Second Act is now officially a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization! We cannot thank our community of supporters (all of you!) enough for your continued support throughout this process. We look forward to being in touch with ways of donating and further supporting the organization in the near future. 

Volunteers Needed

As our organization continues to grow, our team needs to as well! We’re looking for volunteers to assist running Second Act. You'll get to join a great team passionate about building an exciting organization while staying connected to the arts. These roles will have the possibility of serving as internship credit:

• Mentorship Program Coordinator (~1-2 hours / week): Work with our mentorship team to match mentors and mentees!

• Tech Coordinator (~3-5 hours / month): Update and help build out our website. Experience using Wix is a bonus!

Please reply to this email if you are interested in either of the positions listed above. We'll follow up with next steps. We're excited for you to join us!

Other Announcements

We are very excited to announce three new Partnerships:

Barre to Bedside

Barre to Bedside is establishing a healthcare-oriented mentorship organization for dancers. The plan is to recruit mentors and mentees at all levels of medical training for mentorship, networking, and community-building. In addition, they will be hosting events such as panel discussions, coffee, hours, lectures, and volunteer outreach. Please fill out the survey via this link to show your interest in the program. 

Harkness Center for Dance Injuries

Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Health works to enhance the health, well-being, and quality of life of dancers and dance companies through clinical, education, and research programs. Second Act is excited to partner with the Harkness Center to provide support to dancers interested in careers in the field of dance medicine.

Murmure Skincare

Murmure Skincare aims to make a real difference by offering safer and more effective skincare options that align with your values. Founded by two former ABT Dancers, Jonathan Klein and Emily Hayes, Second Act is thrilled to champion these two incredibly smart and impactful entrepreneurs who are paving the way for dancers to launch creative ventures beyond the dance studio.

We’re excited to share a discount code with you all: Use promo code “SECONDACT” for 15% off your entire purchase!

Thank you so much for your continued support, and we’re excited for what the rest of the year has in store. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or just to say hello!

Sincerely,

Erika Pugh

Director of Community, Second Act

[email protected]