Program Manager at
the Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta
The primary focus of the Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta is to foster cultural relationships between German-speaking people and the Southeastern United States; to facilitate and co-produce projects of national, as well as international scope; to promote a better understanding of German culture, language, and society within the larger context of European life. The Goethe-Zentrum is an American 501c3 non-profit and while we apply for grants through the German government and "mother" organization the Goethe-Institut, we rely heavily on private donations and fundraising to keep our organization alive.
As the Program Manager, I support all aspects of our organization including the language program, cultural program, fundraising, marketing, and our intern and volunteer program. I thrive in the multicultural environment, both from our own team and students each with their unique heritages, as well as the Alliance Francaise, with whom we share an office space. Applying my German language skills in a professional setting on a daily basis has challenged me in the last 18 months and drastically improved my writing and grammar skills. Additionally, the chance to think creatively about language and culture and develop new programming ideas in a team setting is one of the most rewarding professional experiences I've had thus far.
My Latest Projects
FRÜHLINGSFEST
Our annual Frühlingsfest (spring festival) is a family-friendly event that combines a German-style festival and many things that we love such as local art vendors, music, street performers, and food. In preparation for our first-ever festival in 2019, I initiated the compilation of a Contact Emails database which hosted over 250 artists, musicians, and food vendors contact information to speedline the recruitment processes, resulting in over 40 artist vendors for our first year.
SILENT AUCTION FUNDRAISER
Along with my dedicated team members, we organized a silent auction fundraising event branded Let's Celebrate Berlin! which attracted over 200 guests and generated nearly $20,000 in income from our silent auction. The silent auction consisted of more than 60 donated items, which we had received from friends of the organization and personal friends of some team members, as well as from local Midtown businesses. Three interns and I had gone door-to-door asking for donations and outlined a strategic follow-up plan, with a 15% success rate for donations.