ABOUT ME
I specialize in the impossible. Building zero-budget dreams into thriving non-profits, connecting people who would not have come together any other way, launching an art support organization with members across the globe—all things I have successfully accomplished.
I do not have a Ph.D. in aging. I am not a gerontologist, anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist, or physician specializing in geriatrics. Instead I hold the impossibly privileged position of an ordinary 194-year-old woman with unlimited curiosity and the intent to fill my last years with as much meaning and euphoria as possible.
No matter what I tell you later, I'm 72. My latest book is about things I care about: feeling more alive, seeking joy, loving, belonging, and connecting. Not everyone considers these to be appropriate interests for seniors and some people will think my stories are too personal but I’ve learned some imperative things in the experience of getting older and now I think my job is to pass them on.
1970-80
Founded Jasmine and Bread
Through a series of unplanned and amazing opportunities, I founded Jasmine and Bread, a non-profit organization, to support craftspeople in Afghanistan and provide them with fair market earnings.
As the organization grew, a school was established to teach traditional skills to younger people. In the US I established a sales and distribution network including museum stores, boutiques, gift stores and department stores. Jasmine and Bread was named from an Afghan proverb; “if you have two coins, use one for jasmine, the next for bread. One will give you life, the other a reason for living.” When it became too dangerous for me to continue working in Afghanistan, Jasmine and Bread could not continue.
1991—2004
Pact, An Adoption Alliance
Co-founder, Co-director
Pact is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve adopted children of color. In every case, the child is always our primary client. In order to best serve children's needs, we provide not only adoptive placement but lifelong education, support, and community for adoptees and their families on issues of adoption and race.
Our goal is for every child to feel wanted honored and loved, a cherished member of a strong family with proud connections to the rich cultural heritage that is his or her birthright. We advocate for honesty and authenticity in matters of race and adoption. We strongly believe that adopted children's and adults' connections to birth family and birth heritage should be respected and maintained.
We also strive to identify and counteract "adoptism," an unfortunately common social prejudice that challenges the legitimacy of the choice to place a child for adoption or to build a family by adoption. Finally, as an organization committed to children of color, we feel it is essential to educate ourselves and others about the pervasive power of race and racism as they affect our children, our families, ourselves and our society.
www.international-encaustic-artists.org
2005-Current
Founded by Gail Steinberg
IEA remains the oldest and largest non-profit professional membership organization for encaustic art, with over 450 member artists in thirty-four states in the U.S., five provinces in Canada, and artists in Mexico, Australia, Europe and Asia.