MY VOICE MY LENS:
Executive Summary

My Voice My Lens is an innovative professional development program designed to inspire participants to reflect on individual and shared values and identities - through dynamic conversations that invoke important questions and insights regarding ‘leadership’, ‘health and wellbeing’, ‘diversity and inclusion’.

Vision

That each My Voice My Lens participant is inspired to contemplate one’s individual identity, complexities, and collegial professional relationships, through engagement in the art of self-portrait photography, and thus absorb the structure and meaning of a rich visual experience into one's wider personal and professional achievements and interactions.

Mission

• to implement a deeply introspective program through a series of workshops - each designed to integrate personal and collective development with the craft of photography - in workplace, healthcare, and education sectors.

• link self-expression with reflective practice and empathetic listening to enrich responses to diverse perspectives - underpinned by a profound baseline of mutual respect.

Human Resources And Administrative Teams’ Roles Involve:

• ongoing meetings with Judith regarding aligning an organization’s mission, vision, and practices with My Voice My Lens

•  leadership and photographic themes

• designating participants 

• organizing workshop and exhibition spaces and relevant technologies– -for on-site and/or remote workshops

Workshop Participants’ Committed Investment of Time Involves:

• creating and sharing self-portrait photography portfolios - during individual presentations and ‘round-table’ commentary

• engaging in curatorial practices – composing Artist’s Statements and curating portfolio images

“Judith's program has forever changed how I relate to those around me with such a tremendous impact on my path as a creative thinker and people leader. My Voice My Lens has enriched our team's sense of collective well-being and brought us together in ways that we could never have imagined. Judith is an expert facilitator and educator, carefully blending her decades of razor-sharp learning experience with timeless heart & soul beyond measure. Thank you for opening our eyes to the space between us and I look forward to participating again in the future!"

Lawrence Levinson, 2021, Wave Financial

My Voice My Jewish Lens represents the artful evolution of nine Toronto Heschel  Teacher- Leaders, artfully expressed through self- portrait photography created in winter/spring 2023. Each artist continues to inspire me to look deep within and to be an eloquent communicator of visual stories that truly matter.

Judith Leitner, 2023, Culminating Exhibition Curatorial Statement, Toronto Heschel School

MY VOICE MY LENS: Why Now?

1.  As communities navigate the transition to post-pandemic in-person, virtual, or hybrid experiences, it is critical that innovative programs be introduced and incorporated in an organization’s culture, as strategies to:

• shape and model an environment of trust, connectivity, and shared ideals 

• vitalize purpose and inclusive, equal voices

2.  Our multicultural society includes an expansive collective of diverse identities. As a lived experience, My Voice My Lens
fosters creative discourse to:

• amplify compelling questions and foster a spectrum of individual and communal perspectives regarding ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’.

• animate and inform a rich dialogue regarding the role of the photographic image in contemporary work environments and cultures

This ground-breaking collaborative initiative illuminates the profound healing momentum in art. We all find and reveal ourselves through our interactions and conversations with people. Aphasia has a direct impact on conversation and thus compromises the very heart of what it means to be human. This exhibit enables 3 individuals with aphasia to present their humanity, a true statement of self-identity.

Aura Kagan Ph.D., 2015, Executive Director, Director of Applied Research and Education, Aphasia Institute

  My Voice My Lens: Program Modules                              

• One – Three Day Intensive 

• Four - Six Workshop Series

Additional Services Include: 

• Curatorial Services  

• Photo-Book Design and Creation 

• Speaking Engagements

To Learn More, Contact:  

• info@myvoicemylens.com

• Find Me On LinkedIn