Future Leaders in Philanthropy: Meet-A-FLiP: Alexandra Lee

Alexandra Lee
Development Officer
ConstellationCenter

Alexandra Lee, who graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts in 2006, is a Development Officer at the ConstellationCenter in Cambridge, MA, a new performing arts center. FLiP recently spoke to Alexandra about her corner of the philanthropic world.

Future Leaders in Philanthropy: Tell us a little about yourself, where you went to school, what you majored in, and the interests that led you to a job in philanthropy.

Alexandra Lee: I went to Wellesley College in MA just outside of Boston – and graduated in 2006 with a degree in Political Science, focusing on American and Comparative Politics. During college, I spent one year at the London School of Economics, and studied International History and Government.

Throughout this time, I always took a big interest in being involved in a larger community than the one offered by my college. When I was at Wellesley I spent time volunteering through a student-run community service organization operated in Cambridge (working with communities in both Cambridge and Boston with enrichment programs for children) and in London I interned at two arts centers – the Institute of Contemporary Art (in education) and Royal Opera House (in development). These experiences kept me engaged in the arts world and in particular helped me think more critically about how to make the arts and art education easily accessible - and meaningful to everyone.

I grew up in a household filled with the arts. We spent our weekends at museums, were forced to listen to loads of classical music, if I ever complained about being bored my mother sat me down in front of a Janson art history book and had me copy some of the greats, and so forth. I gained loads from that – and have always said so; having access to all of those things dramatically shaped the person I am today. I believe that art (performing, cinematic, and fine) should be truly integrated in a community and accessible to everyone.

I came to the realization that I was good at conveying my passion for projects that worked towards a goal of community arts and accessibility, and that it was truly something that I could stand behind and support without any moral dilemmas. That’s how I became interested in working in development; it was a place in the world where I could maintain my connection with the arts and ensure that people knew about them, supported them, and understood their importance to a community.

FLiP: So tell us more about the ConstellationCenter. What is it, what’s the mission, and what is your role?

AL: The ConstellationCenter will be a new performing and cinematic arts center for Cambridge, right in Kendall Square. It will consist of four halls – each designed with a specific purpose (but with the capability to hold any number of performance types). The halls were intensely studied via historical and acoustical design to ensure that the final product of each is the finest possible performing space. The largest hall will seat 1000 people, and the smallest approximately 60 - depending on seat configuration. The great thing about the project is that it will serve the needs of many mid-size performing arts non profits in Boston that do not currently have a “home” for their performances. There are great performance spaces in Boston, but many of them are too big or inappropriate for the organizations and their performance type, the Center will be able to provide performance spaces for them.

My job is to rally support for the project – specifically via financial means. I am part of a team spearheading the capital campaign to make the ConstellationCenter a reality – finding individuals in the Cambridge and Boston communities - although not exclusively - who should have a vested interest in the project and fully educating them on what it is we are doing and why their support is necessary. It is my job to know everything about the project and to be able to convey to any number of people, with a variety of interests, the importance of building this state-of-the-art and groundbreaking facility for the greater Boston area. This can mean any number of things on a day to day basis though – one day I could be working on database management, another day creating our newsletter with our graphic designer, the next working on a presentation to a group of individuals who will help us make the ConstellationCenter a reality.

FLiP: What do you enjoy most about working in philanthropy?

AL: There is nothing static about what I am involved in. It is about interacting with people in all industries, and rallying them around a project that I truly believe in. There is an excitement about working on a project like the ConstellationCenter. Educating people on the revolutionary research that has been undertaken to create the Center, and how it is going to revolutionize the way that we experience performance in this area of the world. It is an unbeatable experience!

FLiP: Do you have any advice you would give to future FLiPs looking at a career in philanthropy?

AL: I think for me work experience and internships were the key. As you are maturing, there are a lot of opportunities out there for you to gain actual real world experience in a working organization. For me the key to discovering that development was where I wanted to be at this point in my life came through some incredible time spent with a community-based organization in Cambridge, MA and then with a large performing arts center in London the summer before my final year at school.

Also, don’t take for granted the connections that your college or university may have in the alumnae office. I attended a small all women’s liberal arts college in the northeast and through my alumnae office was able to talk to a number of professionals in the non profit world, and get their take on how they got where they were, why they chose the field, and what they thought were the skills and experiences that were necessary to succeed. It never hurts to ask questions about how people ended up in any field, but particularly philanthropy; there are so many different paths that lead people here.

FLiP: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

AL: Today I would say that in 10 years I would like to be working closely with public schools in whatever state I live in, improving access to the arts in classrooms. For me, art made a difference in my education - a big difference, and I would love to be able to ensure that every student has the ability to access it with as much ease as I did. I always talk about setting up a non-profit which will provide after school programs for K-12 students, giving them studio art time, transportation and guides to museums, as well as free time with access to a variety of supplies. Access to incredible, passionate teachers is important too. I am still very young though, and figuring things out. Ask me the same question tomorrow – things may have changed.

If you are interested in being our next “Meet-a-FLiP” e-mail us at flip@onphilanthropy.com!