Welcome, Jennifer Lobsenz, SAL’s New Youth Programs Director!
September 29, 2022
We’re delighted to introduce you to Jennifer Lobsenz, SAL’s new Youth Programs Director! You may know Jenne already from her work at the intersection of the arts and social justice in Seattle, such as Path with Art, City of Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights, where she recently worked as a Racial Justice Analyst, and beyond.
To help you get to know Jenne, we asked her about her hobbies (including throwing “semi-structured dinner parties” as well as pottery), her favorite book right now, and more—read on.
Your position at SAL is our Youth Programs Director. What does that really mean?
As SAL’s Youth Programs Director, I get to collaborate with all the amazing people who touch the WITS and Youth Poet Laureate programs. This looks like placing and supporting professional writers in year-round public school residencies, building and maintaining relationships with community partners, and advocating for the importance of making creative writing opportunities available to young people.
Where are you from?
I am a born and raised Seattleite! I grew up just blocks from the SAL office on Capitol Hill and enjoy the daily walk through memory lane when I come in to work. I start a lot of sentences with, “This actually used to be…”
When you’re not working, you can be found…
When I’m not at work, I’m often biking to a park where my kiddos can clamber around. We spend a lot of time at Seward, our collective favorite park in the city. When I can swing it, I really enjoy making pottery, going on walks with friends, attending multidisciplinary art events, reading, and hosting semi-structured dinner parties (I like connecting people!). But if we’re being honest, I’m very much in a high volume packing lunches and kissing scraped knees stage of my life.
Favorite book right now?
I’m a huge fan of Simone Weil; a copy of Gravity and Grace lives on my desk and I check in with it often. I appreciate so much about her ability to think and feel and actualize. When I engage with her work, I feel like my own abilities sharpen.
What’s your ideal Sunday?
An awesome Sunday for me would include being woken by the enthusiastic cuddles of my two daughters, Aura and Vela, eating breakfast as a family, romping around a local park, taking a picnic lunch to Kubota Gardens, reading poems and stories together, and having some friends over for dinner.
Thank you, Jenne! Welcome aboard!