Meet Wendy Wang Pisa!
Introducing (drumroll please) Wendy Wang Pisa!
Wendy has officially gone from being our part-time Program Assessment Coordinator to our full-time Special Projects Manager! To give her a warm welcome in her new position and an introduction to you all, we sat down with our awesome new full-time co-worker for a get-to-know-you interview. Enjoy!
Where are you from?
I was born in Taipei, Taiwan and then I moved to the States when I was about 10 years old. I started traveling and moving around after high school. I moved back to Taiwan for many years, I lived in London for a while, and then I came back to DC a couple of years ago.
What’s your background?
I studied Art History in college and when I finished I didn’t know what to do with my degree. I then decided to pursue teaching and that was what brought me back to Taipei, Taiwan. I was a bilingual school teacher and taught many different subjects, but primarily English, math, and art. This led me to getting my master’s degree in Museum Education because it’s a marriage of my art history background and my teaching experience.
My previous experiences working for various museums is actually what led me to working here. I worked in museum education for a couple different museums. The most recent one is the Freer | Sackler, the Smithsonian’s Museum of Asian Art. Prior to that I was working at the International Spy Museum and the Phillips Collection where I was an educator. Before my time in DC, I was in London getting my Masters degree and working at the British Museum. I volunteered and worked part-time at a couple of smaller organizations and also the Science Museum in London.
All of these experiences have brought me to be a museum educator, but also an administrator and manager for educational offerings in cultural organizations.
What are you most excited about working full-time for DC Collab?
I am excited about the work that we do here, I think it’s exceptionally inspiring to advocate for students to gain more equitable access to the arts, which is extremely important. I think the impact the arts have on students aren’t necessarily clear cut since it isn’t always something that is easily presentable, it’s not something easily measurable. So what we do here is very important.
Who inspires you?
This is funny as it isn’t necessarily related to the arts, but most recently Kobe Bryant. I used to play basketball even though I was never a big fan of his. I thought he was such a ball hog and seemed really arrogant. But after he passed away very suddenly and tragically with his daughter, I learned much more about him and I realized that I can relate to his quote “Mamba Mentality” (or his way of working hard is a philosophy that he has). Mamba Mentality means that the opportunity to work hard and being in the midst of that hard work and pain is already the dream; more so than the destination I think. The process and the path are just as important, if not more than the destination itself. And I find that it is something that I also believe in and I think that in my own life the path to whatever success means to me is not a linear one and it’s definitely not an easy one either, especially being in this field. So someone like Kobe who thinks that way inspires me.
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t working?
I love spending time with my baby who is almost 9 months old right now. That’s also very tiring sometimes. I like to cook sometimes. I’ve been trying to get back into yoga and trying to be more active again.
Do you have a pet?
My dog recently passed away. His name was Happy and he was very old. He was a Westie and he was a very spunky and friendly dog.
Why are you an Arts and Humanities Education Advocate?
Like I said before, the Arts and Humanities are things that actually make a hugely positive impact on young people and oftentimes I feel like it isn’t always measurable. And being someone who has the opportunity to either measure it or to present it so that other people can learn about its positive impact is something that I’m passionate about.
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be?
Probably Ramen, but not the spicy kind. I’m not a spicy person.
What is a topic you wish you knew more about?
I think I wish I was more knowledgeable in Science in general so I could be a part of more positive change in the environment or just in smaller ways too.
If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
I feel like there are certain world leaders that are not doing their job and I think a lot of their actions are based on their personal gains. I find that extremely irritating and unjust. But again, I think politics is actually something that I wished I understood more. But at the same time, I don’t even know if understanding more actually does any good either. I think we are seeing a lot of that in the world right now and I wish changes can be made.
