Judith Leibowitz Scholarship Fund Committee

Teachers are role models who inspire, and education has a ripple effect. The Judith Leibowitz Scholarship is offered to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who would like to earn an Alexander Technique teaching certification. Announced at the 2019 ACGM to an enthusiastic response, this scholarship was conceived to empower BIPOC who want to train to become AT teachers and to expand the AT teaching community. 

The Judith Leibowitz Scholarship pays 50 percent of tuition costs of an AmSAT teacher certification program. In the scholarship’s inaugural year, four scholarships were awarded. The first recipients started their training in fall 2020 in Albuquerque, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Since then, four more scholarships were awarded. adding Minneapolis to the list of cities where JLSF recipients are training. In June 2023, we celebrated the graduation of two of the first awardees and welcomed Monet Felton and Stephen Mclean as AmSAT certified teachers!

In addition to seeking personal and grant support, the JLSF runs a regular workshop series on Zoom.  Attendees donate any amount to register. Teachers, trainees, and students come together to learn. Workshops are recorded and previous workshop videos are available by donation through our website. If you'd like to teach a workshop, email us: jleibowitzscholarship@amsatonline.org.

The JLSF sees Alexander Technique in the 21st century as an anti-racist practice. We support the continuous efforts to unveil racism and any forms of oppression in the work, the writings, and the institutions of the Technique. 

Your support sends a strong message about the importance of diversifying our teaching community for future generations of students.

2022 Annual Committee Report

Chair:  Jessica Wolf

Co-Chair: Rebecca Tuffey

Members: Melissa Brown, Sandra Bain Cushman, Ian Jorgensen, Laura Parker, Renee Schneider, Fabio Tavares,

Board Liaison:  Lisa DeAngelis 

Our committee wishes to thank Karl Snider for his service on our committee. Karl shifted from a full committee member into the role of consultant in April. He will support the JLSF by writing grant applications.

We welcome Melissa Brown and Ian Jorgensen. Melissa has previous non-profit Board experience and will support fundraising. Ian brings important tech support and innovates our online presence. 

We thank Pyeng Threadgill who has served as a mentor to our four current teachers-in-training receiving JLSF scholarship support.

The JLSF committee continues to fund the training for four trainees in the following AmSAT-approved training programs: ATI-LA, ATTiC, RIAT, and AT-ABQ. 

Committee members meet on a conference call every other week to discuss all business related to JLSF. Our meeting minutes are posted to our committee page, on the AmSAT website.

We have held bi-weekly fundraising workshops since December 2020. Participants donate any amount to attend. Presenters are Alexander Technique teachers from around the U.S. and Europe.

We invite those who identify as Black, Indigenous or Persons of Color to attend our workshops as VIPs and provide complimentary tickets.

Our website now features a page where people can donate in support of a specific fundraising workshop and receive a video link for temporary viewing.

New this May - Donors can set up recurring automatic monthly donations to the JLSF on our website.

The JLSF received a grant of over $22,000 from ACAT this spring when it was officially closed by the New York State Attorney General. We are honored to be part of this important American lineage and partial trustees to its legacy.

Since our launch in 2019, grants plus individual donations exceed $95,000.

The JLSF is exploring ways to expand educational and community support for BIPOC trainees – and to fund initiatives within AmSAT that foster equity and inclusion for our growing population of BIPOC teachers.