Episode 72: Rachel Barnard - Creative Justice

6 Mar

Rachel Barnard's project, “Young New Yorkers”, is a powerful example of creativity as a force for good.

It’s a program for young offenders that embraces the idea of art and creativity as an alternative to the criminal record system.

An Australian-born architect, Rachel found herself responding to a mid-pandemic career hiatus by applying for a fellowship which would fund the development a radical new system for rehabilitating New York’s young offenders. As she confesses during the podcast, she pitched the idea to a judge explaining that she’d won a fellowship to fund the project - but somehow forgot to mention that her fellowship was in fact, for Architecture!

Via a creative process called Mapping, she has assisted over 1,400 young people to exit the criminal legal system. In this role, she partnered with multiple criminal legal agencies including NYC Criminal Courts, Kings County DA's Office, NYC Department of Probation, and the New York Police Department.

It's a stunning story of how lives can be changed forever with a clear vision, a lot of grit and a dash of creative magic.

Rachel is a coach, entrepreneur, and artist. She created the proprietary Map process that allows creative entrepreneurs to get unstuck and achieve their wildest dreams. She has been acknowledged in the media and has received awards and fellowships. She holds a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Queensland.

LINKS:

Rachel Barnard - Special Guest