Interviews and Attributions

Excerpt from Interview with Lisa in The Boston Voyager

...If you are looking for Lisa Fliegel you will inevitably find her at the intersection of conflict zones. Lisa has worn many hats — writer, artist, and therapist — but they are all perched upon the head of a woman who has worked throughout her life with people coping with the raw wounds of significant psychological trauma. At times this can be disorienting; at times she finds herself at a stop sign waiting for the light to change.

...In the course of her twenty years in Israel, Lisa catapulted from being a wayward farmer to land a gig as a journalist on the cusp of world-changing events in the Middle East. She attempted to get the Israeli Army out of Beirut and to defend the rights of Palestinian workers employed by Israeli companies. She didn’t set out to be a journalist, but her proclivity for seeing the news up close — fact versus fiction, brought her to a vantage point valued by the press. This profession crept up on her while she was in Tel-Aviv studying to become a therapist. She rationalized that she was not a dilettante by saying:

“It’s all really the same thing. You’re trying to get to the core, to the truth of a story, trying to figure out why things turn out the way they do and how they might change for the better. In either case if people don’t trust you, you can’t do your job — so you have to figure out how to build an alliance.”  READ THE ARTICLE

Molding women: Power of the arts in shaping strong lives, excerpt from The Harvard Gazette

...Lisa Fliegel, founder and director of the Arts Incentives Program, is convinced that art contributes to mental health and social change. “We are working together to chase down the problems until they are solved.

...An unusual group of people and organizations have come together to offer these girls a weekly retreat. The Arts Incentives Program at the United South End Settlements coordinates the program and provides ongoing counseling for the girls. The Naratoone Security Corporation, which patrols MassHousing developments, helps &emdash; through the efforts of Deputy Chief Matt Brevelleri – to identify girls for the program, and provides transportation. Harvard brings the magic of the arts by offering the studio space, ceramics teachers, and experts – and the clay. Last fall, Cambodian artist Yary Livan, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror and the only remaining master of traditional Cambodian ceramics and kiln building, was guest instructor. Drawing from his own experiences and love of art, Livan brought a special intuition for teaching that helped break down barriers and build the girls’ confidence.  READ THE ARTICLE

Article by Lisa from New Middle East Magazine

Adventure travel has come to Jordan. One of its most pleasurable forms is a flight over Wadi Rum in the Royal Jordanian air balloon. Our correspondent, LISA FLIEGEL, records the experience. READ THE ARTICLE

Excerpt from interview with Lisa in The American Prospect

... help came in the guise of the Arts Incentive Program, a Boston group that serves struggling city kids “living on the cusp of trauma and disregard,” as program director Lisa Fliegel puts it. The program engages the kids in positive pursuits such as painting, photography, and dance. A mentor spotted Andrea's dramatic personality and set up an internship with a theater company.

For years, teachers, guidance counselors, and even relatives had seen Andrea as an obstinate, ornery girl. Lisa Fliegel saw something else: a bright young woman with mental-health problems. When she had Andrea tested, the diagnosis made sense: Andrea had “cognitive rigidity.” She couldn't deal with change -- a challenge for someone whose life had consisted of one disruption after another.

The Arts Incentive staff moved Andrea to a small parochial school. They arranged for Andrea to meet someone from a similar background who got out of trouble and is finishing law school. “Once you've asked for help, we don't give up,” Fliegel says. “We stick by you until you're back on track, in school -- not locked up -- and on the road to higher educational training.” READ ARTICLE

Referenced in William, Ed, Ayers, & Bernardine, Ed, Dohrn, & Rick, Ed, Ayers,. (2001). Zero Tolerance: Resisting the Drive for Punishment in our Schools. A Handbook for Parents, Students, Educators, and Citizens.  [MORE INFO]