March 2019 Featured Interview |
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Interview with
Lesley Goldwasser
Dedicated Philanthropist and Co-founder & Board Chair of Zara's Center
Photo Credit: The Plutzik-Goldwasser Family
About Lesley:
Lesley Goldwasser was born and raised in Zimbabwe and is co-founder and board chair of Zara’s Center, an after-school haven for AIDS-impacted children in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe that has served thousands of children ages 5-18. She is also co-president of the Plutzik Goldwasser Family Foundation which supports wide-ranging causes, including education, African relief, literature, and Jewish communal causes.
Lesley and her family own and operate The Betsy-South Beach, a boutique luxury hotel in Miami Beach known for its community-based philanthropic work and a deep commitment to arts and culture. Lesley is also a veteran Wall Street executive with over 25 years of investment and banking experience and is managing partner of GreensLedge, an investment banking firm headquartered in New York City with offices in London, Tokyo, and Seoul.
Lesley currently serves as lead independent director of Tiptree Financial, and she is on the board of directors of Miami Music Festival and the UJA Federation of New York.
Lesley Goldwasser was born and raised in Zimbabwe and is co-founder and board chair of Zara’s Center, an after-school haven for AIDS-impacted children in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe that has served thousands of children ages 5-18. She is also co-president of the Plutzik Goldwasser Family Foundation which supports wide-ranging causes, including education, African relief, literature, and Jewish communal causes.
Lesley and her family own and operate The Betsy-South Beach, a boutique luxury hotel in Miami Beach known for its community-based philanthropic work and a deep commitment to arts and culture. Lesley is also a veteran Wall Street executive with over 25 years of investment and banking experience and is managing partner of GreensLedge, an investment banking firm headquartered in New York City with offices in London, Tokyo, and Seoul.
Lesley currently serves as lead independent director of Tiptree Financial, and she is on the board of directors of Miami Music Festival and the UJA Federation of New York.
About Zara's Center:
Zara’s Center is an after-school safe haven for AIDS orphans and vulnerable youth in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Center was founded in 2007 to respond to an increase in children being orphaned due to AIDS and the deteriorating economic situation in Zimbabwe. Zara's provides services to over 125 children in Emganwini Township. Zara's Center is committed to providing the tools and resources necessary to help children succeed and become their own advocates. Children come to Zara’s Center for a good meal, help with homework, intervention for health & wellness, and structured activities in a safe place. Since Zara's founding, the situation in Zimbabwe has continued to make life difficult for low-income, at-risk, children. Zimbabwe has experienced a sharp decline on all crucial counts in the last decade: access to education, economic stability, employment, health, and overall life expectancy. The country is ranked 98th out of 117 developing countries on the Global Hunger Index. Sixteen percent of adults have HIV/AIDS, placing Zimbabwe in the top five most HIV/AIDS-impacted countries in the world. As a result, the country has one of the world's largest orphan populations. Many Zimbabwean children do not consistently attend school, as their guardians cannot afford mandatory public school fees. (Statistics found in: 2015 Global Hunger Index, CIA World Fact Book, 2014, The World Health Organization, and local publications.) |
Photo Credit: Zara's Center
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Myrna Beth Haskell, managing editor, spoke with Lesley about the founding of Zara’s Center, her other philanthropic pursuits and her lifelong love of the arts.
You were born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Tell me about your hometown.
It was a beautiful town. My parents moved there from Eastern Europe to escape the Nazis. It was a joyful place…the people…the community. There was a beautiful and eclectic mix of Victorian and art deco architecture.
But there was an all-white government, and only white people could vote, which caused unrest. Then, civil war broke out, and from the time I was about 12 years old and onward, the country started to deteriorate. People started leaving…there were curfews, searches, and mortar attacks. My brothers left just before graduation because my father didn’t want them to fight in the war.
When did you first come to the United States?
I studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and then I left for New York just after graduation.
You were born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Tell me about your hometown.
It was a beautiful town. My parents moved there from Eastern Europe to escape the Nazis. It was a joyful place…the people…the community. There was a beautiful and eclectic mix of Victorian and art deco architecture.
But there was an all-white government, and only white people could vote, which caused unrest. Then, civil war broke out, and from the time I was about 12 years old and onward, the country started to deteriorate. People started leaving…there were curfews, searches, and mortar attacks. My brothers left just before graduation because my father didn’t want them to fight in the war.
When did you first come to the United States?
I studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and then I left for New York just after graduation.
Please explain the inspiration behind founding Zara’s Center. The website says that there has been an increased number of orphaned children in Zimbabwe due to AIDS and the deteriorating economic situation.
My parents lived there until 2008, and we visited many times. I feel it’s important for kids to understand how others their age live - those who aren’t as privileged. My daughter, Rachael, came home from one of those trips…I think she was 12 at the time…and expressed that she wanted us to build an orphanage. But an orphanage wasn’t really what was needed. Most of the kids had somewhere to live. Even for those who had lost both parents, there would be a grandparent, aunt or other relative who could take them in.
Zara’s Center Report: 65% of Zara's kids have lost at least one parent, most to HIV/AIDS-related complications. Though most do live with at least one family member, their homes are often unstable. What was needed was a safe place for them to be after school, so that they wouldn’t be influenced in a negative way. Children finish school there at 1:00pm and need somewhere they can thrive afterward. At 13, Rachael focused her Bat Mitzvah project on raising funds to help these kids in need. |
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Another thing that drove us was the fact that there were various causes and programs helping in many other parts of Africa, but not in Zimbabwe. I think part of the reason was that there was too much corruption, which made things extremely complicated. But this is where I was from, and we were determined. I’ve always said that if you really want to do something, you need to put your mind to it.
We were starting this from scratch. I won’t lie…there were many, many bumps in the road. There were also times we wanted to shut it down…but we persevered, and I’m proud to say that the center is doing really well today.
We were starting this from scratch. I won’t lie…there were many, many bumps in the road. There were also times we wanted to shut it down…but we persevered, and I’m proud to say that the center is doing really well today.
Activities in the Arts, Life Skills and Recreation
Photo Credits: Zara's Center |
The center provides hot meals for the children, but it also has many services, including tutoring, classes in the arts, healthcare, recreational activities and life skills training. What are the most popular activities, and how do these activities help the children thrive?
We were inspired in 2007, when we visited Zimbabwe for an extended period of time. We had the opportunity to attend a performance by Liyana, a musical band of physically challenged kids from Bulawayo. It was the most incredibly joyful group of musicians I had come across – and this group consisted of young paraplegics, deaf students, etc. We asked how we could assist in furthering their interest in music. They didn’t want better instruments…they wanted to come and perform in the U.S., so we arranged a tour for them across America.* I have always believed that the arts have a great impact on communities, but the arts are most impactful for children. The arts programs are favorites with the kids at the center. Zara’s staff has trained in Cape Town with Lalela,** so we can provide an arts program that inspires on multiple levels. We provide piano lessons, and the kids learn how to play marimbas. They even go into the community and play the marimbas at the supermarket and at local homes for the elderly. [The center also has lessons in beadwork, dance, visual arts and drama.] |
*The LIYANA 2009 USA Tour was co-produced by the PG Family Foundation, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and The Betsy-South Beach. Liyana (which means "it’s raining" in Ndebele and equals good luck) is an Afro fusion band whose members were born with impaired physical abilities.
**Lalela provides educational arts for at-risk youth to spark creative thinking and awaken the entrepreneurial spirit. Through Lalela's arts curriculum and critical messaging component, it helps ignite imagination and teach children how to map and manifest their dreams and goals, launching the possibility of a different future for themselves and their communities.
**Lalela provides educational arts for at-risk youth to spark creative thinking and awaken the entrepreneurial spirit. Through Lalela's arts curriculum and critical messaging component, it helps ignite imagination and teach children how to map and manifest their dreams and goals, launching the possibility of a different future for themselves and their communities.
Does Zara’s Center rely on volunteers to help with the wide range of activities?
We don’t have a lot of volunteers. This is one of the challenges. It’s complicated in Zimbabwe. For instance, the Internet shut down just two weeks ago. Petroleum costs are up 200 to 300 percent. Security is also an obstacle.
We have a five-acre plot of land across the road from the center where we grow our fruits and vegetables. This is where we have plans to build two guest houses for volunteers so they will have a place to stay.
Note: Most of Zara’s staff consists of trained professionals native to Zimbabwe. These professionals have both cultural and experiential understanding of the needs of the children being served.
How does the Zara’s Ambassador Program work?
My niece and nephew have phone calls with the Zara’s Center kids on a bi-weekly basis. Children are driven to reach out to others their age. It’s inspiring for the kids in Zimbabwe to talk to a student in America, and vice versa. There’s an exchange of ideas and friendship.
Zara’s Ambassador Program (ZAP) provides several ways for interested classrooms, teachers and kids to help, such as fundraising activities, events and technology drives.
[See more on ambassador program here.]
Lesley explained that second-hand smart phones and small tablets are needed and easy to transport. However, since taxes and duty charges can be daunting obstacles for getting computers and similar, large items to Zimbabwe, Zara’s Center is always looking for cash donations so that needed items can be purchased locally.
How many children are enrolled at the center? Are there any plans for expansion?
We currently have over 125 kids registered (ages are 5 to 16). About 75 of those children come to Zara’s for breakfast before school because many of them don’t eat anything until they come to the center.
We would take more kids if we could. The number of toilets dictates how many children we can have, and only so many are allowed on the property. There is a huge waiting list. It’s known that Zara’s kids are doing well. At Zara’s, 100% of the poorest children complete lower secondary school compared to the national average of 36%.
We are working on becoming self-sustainable. We are growing our own food, and we have a well on the property (called a ‘borehole’). It’s one of the only boreholes in the area, so we supply water to the community during shortages. [Zara’s Center has the only generator in the area as well, so they provide electricity during blackouts.] We are also the only school with Wi-fi, and we lend books to other schools because oftentimes the teacher is the only one who has a copy of a textbook being used in the classroom.
One of our objectives is to supply the school with not only fruits and vegetables, but chickens, eggs, and meats and to be able to provide for the community as well.
My dream is to create little Zara’s across Zimbabwe in needed areas.
Can you tell me about the PG Family Foundation and some of the collaborative projects your foundation works on?
The foundation is a big supporter of Zara’s Center, but we also support a wide range of cultural and educational programs. [The Foundation uses a venture philanthropy framework to collaborate on projects of critical import to under-served and marginalized communities, both domestically and internationally].
I’m interested in hearing more about The Betsy-South Beach. I’ve read that the hotel has a commitment to the arts and cultural activities. It’s also known for its community-based philanthropic work, correct?
We don’t have a lot of volunteers. This is one of the challenges. It’s complicated in Zimbabwe. For instance, the Internet shut down just two weeks ago. Petroleum costs are up 200 to 300 percent. Security is also an obstacle.
We have a five-acre plot of land across the road from the center where we grow our fruits and vegetables. This is where we have plans to build two guest houses for volunteers so they will have a place to stay.
Note: Most of Zara’s staff consists of trained professionals native to Zimbabwe. These professionals have both cultural and experiential understanding of the needs of the children being served.
How does the Zara’s Ambassador Program work?
My niece and nephew have phone calls with the Zara’s Center kids on a bi-weekly basis. Children are driven to reach out to others their age. It’s inspiring for the kids in Zimbabwe to talk to a student in America, and vice versa. There’s an exchange of ideas and friendship.
Zara’s Ambassador Program (ZAP) provides several ways for interested classrooms, teachers and kids to help, such as fundraising activities, events and technology drives.
[See more on ambassador program here.]
Lesley explained that second-hand smart phones and small tablets are needed and easy to transport. However, since taxes and duty charges can be daunting obstacles for getting computers and similar, large items to Zimbabwe, Zara’s Center is always looking for cash donations so that needed items can be purchased locally.
How many children are enrolled at the center? Are there any plans for expansion?
We currently have over 125 kids registered (ages are 5 to 16). About 75 of those children come to Zara’s for breakfast before school because many of them don’t eat anything until they come to the center.
We would take more kids if we could. The number of toilets dictates how many children we can have, and only so many are allowed on the property. There is a huge waiting list. It’s known that Zara’s kids are doing well. At Zara’s, 100% of the poorest children complete lower secondary school compared to the national average of 36%.
We are working on becoming self-sustainable. We are growing our own food, and we have a well on the property (called a ‘borehole’). It’s one of the only boreholes in the area, so we supply water to the community during shortages. [Zara’s Center has the only generator in the area as well, so they provide electricity during blackouts.] We are also the only school with Wi-fi, and we lend books to other schools because oftentimes the teacher is the only one who has a copy of a textbook being used in the classroom.
One of our objectives is to supply the school with not only fruits and vegetables, but chickens, eggs, and meats and to be able to provide for the community as well.
My dream is to create little Zara’s across Zimbabwe in needed areas.
Can you tell me about the PG Family Foundation and some of the collaborative projects your foundation works on?
The foundation is a big supporter of Zara’s Center, but we also support a wide range of cultural and educational programs. [The Foundation uses a venture philanthropy framework to collaborate on projects of critical import to under-served and marginalized communities, both domestically and internationally].
I’m interested in hearing more about The Betsy-South Beach. I’ve read that the hotel has a commitment to the arts and cultural activities. It’s also known for its community-based philanthropic work, correct?
Jonathan [Jonathan Plutzik, Lesley’s husband] and I both decided to create this hotel with community and the arts in mind – a hotel that helps the community, enhances the community – it is an extension of who we are and our love of the arts. We have the most incredible artists who exhibit at the Betsy. Aida Mulumeh’s vivid portraits were part of our major photographic exhibition for Art Basel in 2018.
Lesley is immersed in the arts and music scene and is on the Board of Directors of the Miami Music Festival, which provides affordable, world-class musical instruction and ground-breaking performance experiences to young artists from throughout the world for audiences in South Florida. I do all of the playlists for the hotel, and we have live jazz every night.* We also have The Writer’s Room, a retreat for writers and artists to create their best work – doctoral students, published authors, poets. Jonathan’s father, Hyam Plutzik, was a poet and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and his original desk is in the room providing inspiration.** We’re also hosting the O, Miami Poetry Festival [supported by the Knight Foundation], including the launch of a new signature literary program called Knight Writers. |
Lesley and Jonathan
Photo Credit: The Plutzik-Goldwasser Family |
I feel so lucky to have this beautiful and comfortable space and to be able to sprinkle artistic, happy dust there.
*The Betsy's (mostly jazz) Live Music Series features performances with world-recognized musicians. These informal nights are warm and welcoming with no cover charge and no minimum drink order.
**Since its opening, The Writer's Room has hosted two U.S. Poet Laureates and many other emerging and established writers, all of whom have participated in Betsy-directed community service programming during their stay.
*The Betsy's (mostly jazz) Live Music Series features performances with world-recognized musicians. These informal nights are warm and welcoming with no cover charge and no minimum drink order.
**Since its opening, The Writer's Room has hosted two U.S. Poet Laureates and many other emerging and established writers, all of whom have participated in Betsy-directed community service programming during their stay.
How has your philanthropic work shaped your personal and professional life?
I don’t really think it has shaped me because I don’t think of myself that way. It’s just part of me…what I’m compelled to do. Having grown up in Zimbabwe…I got a different perspective of the world. I feel so lucky to be living in America and to have all these opportunities available to me.
So it makes you want to help others who may not have the same opportunities?
Absolutely.
Where’s your sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
When I’m working on my music with my dog, Katie. [Lesley laughs] Katie is short for Katharine Hepburn. I like to call myself a DJ…really though, curating music is such a love of mine.
I asked Lesley what instruments she plays.
Piano, flute…and I’ve played the harp.
I don’t really think it has shaped me because I don’t think of myself that way. It’s just part of me…what I’m compelled to do. Having grown up in Zimbabwe…I got a different perspective of the world. I feel so lucky to be living in America and to have all these opportunities available to me.
So it makes you want to help others who may not have the same opportunities?
Absolutely.
Where’s your sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
When I’m working on my music with my dog, Katie. [Lesley laughs] Katie is short for Katharine Hepburn. I like to call myself a DJ…really though, curating music is such a love of mine.
I asked Lesley what instruments she plays.
Piano, flute…and I’ve played the harp.