Women in the Arts Network; Where it all began.

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="135a11c3.gif"> <div> <B>An interview with Margaret Levine, founder of Women in the Arts Network.</B></div> <div> <B>By Suzanne Montalalou</B></div> <div> <B>More about Margaret Levine</B></div> <div> I have over fifteen years of experience in the financial services industry, with a background in information sciences, research, and database management. I recently completed my position as Director of Market Intelligence for Transindigo, Inc., an NYC Silicon Alley startup specializing in state- of-the-art security software. </div> <div> I have also served as the Information Officer for Operational Risk Inc., a Deutsche Bank spin-off, and as a Senior Information Researcher for financial institutions including Chase Manhattan Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC). My strengths are in management and organization of information and intellectual property, as well as in marketing and competitive intelligence. </div> <div> In an earlier incarnation, I served as the Manager of Database Licensing for American Banker – Bond Buyer, a premier industry publisher where I traveled extensively to develop and promote a database licensing strategy for the company. I have led seminars and developed training modules for librarians and other professionals in the US and abroad. </div> <div> I hold a BA in Comparative Religions and a Masters in Library and Information Systems from UC Berkeley. I have lived in Israel and California and currently reside with my dog, Dolly in New York City, working on special projects. </div> <div> I currently sit on the Board of Directors for Pop Sustainability, an innovative nonprofit organization promoting sustainable lifestyles and economics through popular culture via mass media, fashion and the arts. Pop Sustainability begins the global movement towards creative solutions for racial exclusion, poverty, environmental degradation, social injustice and repression <A HREF="http://www.thinkpop.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thinkpop.org"><U>web site</U></A></div> <div> My interests include: comedy, performance, healing, astrology, raw food, yoga, Judaism, my dog Dolly, friends, travel, writing, networking, my sister Selma, self development, running uphill, swimming, holistic models of health, fun with fashion, pleasure, making things, fixing things, and erotica. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#33CC00" FACE="Arial" ><B>Artrageous Women</B></FONT>   |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Artrageous Women"><U>home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Women in the Arts Network; Where it all began.</div> <div> <B>By Suzanne Montalalou</B></div> <bR> <div> The idea for this web site grew out of a project founder, Margaret Levine, </div> <div> undertook a year ago in order to begin following her own passion more in </div> <div> life. "I had wanted to be a standup comic," says Ms. Levine. "I found Team </div> <div> Management and Leadership Program through Landmark Communications. The </div> <div> people there don't want to buy into your stories of you can't. They teach </div> <div> you several communication technologies (that help) you see the power of </div> <div> numbers, audience and focused support." </div> <bR> <div> And that is what she wanted to create for other women, an opportunity to </div> <div> experience some of the magic she experienced with that project. "I pushed </div> <div> myself to do things I otherwise would not have done. I had more fun with my </div> <div> life while I was doing this," Ms. Levine says. </div> <bR> <div> So she began inviting friends to an online forum, that sort of evolved as she </div> <div> went along, and is still evolving, by design. "I had these people who were </div> <div> so creative, and I started thinking, what if I had people like this from all </div> <div> over the world, and what if we could all bring our friends on?" </div> <bR> <div> So, is anyone making any money off of this? "We just wanted to provide </div> <div> resources for people who have things they want to do, that they do not know </div> <div> how to go about, or don't have the people around them or other resources to </div> <div> help them make it happen." </div> <bR> <div> "The original idea was that just by having a group that stood for having </div> <div> women win, and having women step forward with their goals, without having to </div> <div> give specifics (or give their idea away), we can ask questions and the </div> <div> process of answering those questions is starting the process. It is a </div> <div> powerful motivator, just declaring it." </div> <bR> <div> "We are all a network of conversations of the people that are around us," Ms. </div> <div> Levine says. "It is all structural. Are you around the people that are </div> <div> going to support you in structuring (your vision of success)? </div> <bR> <div> Ms. Levine grew up in San Francisco, went to Israel for a year on kibbutzim, </div> <div> then studied spiritual and mystical texts in a Yeshiva for a year. Then she </div> <div> came back to the US to get her BA in religious studies and a Masters in </div> <div> library science. She founded the web site in October of last year. </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.women-in-the-arts-network.bigstep.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.women-in-the-arts-network.big"><U>Visit Women in the Arts Network</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >See more of Margaret </FONT> <A HREF="http://www.terra.com.br/istoe/1641/internacional/1641_orgasmo_total2.htm " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.terra.com.br/istoe/1641/inter"><U>here</U></A> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >and </FONT><A HREF="http://www.mamagenas.com " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.mamagenas.com "><U>here</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0b52cc20.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="194" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Margaret Levine 2001</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:datacruncher_2000@yahoo.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:datacruncher_2000@yahoo.com"><U>Contact Margaret</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>