Meet Theresa Mazza and Maya Osterman-Van Grack of Arvada

Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Mazza and Maya Osterman-Van Grack

Hi Theresa and Maya, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Maya and I were appointed the Co-Executive Directors of Mirror Image Arts in 2023, to lead the organizations mission to disrupt the pipeline to prison through Restorative Theatre, when our long time former Executive Director transitioned out of her role to start a new endeavor. We are proud to serve as the first Co-Executive Directors of the organization in a sector that is still dominated by a traditional top down, pyramid structure, where authority and responsibility are held by the top person in the org and trickles down to the rest of the staff. In our shared leadership model, we have an exceptional amount of support and accountability. We never have to make decisions in a vacuum and we are not expected to be an expert at everything. We have the opportunity on a daily basis to model trust, collaboration, and ethical decision making to the rest of our team. We lean into each other’s strengths, trusting one another’s expertise. We mirror for each other the type of human and collaborator we want to be not just within our organization but in our community and life.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We are entering our second year as Co-Executive Directors! We have learned sooooooo much from the constant challenges nonprofits face. I have learned so much from Maya, our Executive Director of Programs, who is an expert practitioner in Restorative Theatre and Restorative Justice. Maya has also had the opportunity to learn from me what it means to navigate the operations of an organization. My background is in Non-profit administration and I serve as Executive Director of Operations. Together, we’ve learned to be adaptable and creative with some of the biggest challenges we’ve faced and continue to face being:
_Insurmountable harm our criminal legal system creates
_Punitive culture of schools, detention centers, and other systems that serve youth
_Lack of support and resources for the adults who serve youth to live into new ways of co-creating restorative spaces with youth
_Lack of funding to support youth who need our programs

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We consider our work the collective liberation of all. We create impact and collective liberation through three areas of approach: Prevention, Intervention, and Reintegration. We do this work by bringing Restorative Theatre to youth and youth serving adults in schools, community organizations, and detention centers. Through Restorative Theatre we create spaces of healing and belonging while deepening social emotional wellbeing. Our facilitators are skilled theatre makers, first aid mental health youth certified, with ongoing training in relevant evidence-based practices.

We are committed to the following goals:
+Provide youth a safe, caring relationship with a trusted adult.
+Co-create spaces of belonging where youth AND youth-serving adults can build self-awareness, connection and empathy.
+Offer youth-supported spaces where they can process their emotions, practice bold decision-making, and reflect on the results of their choices.
+Role model for youth how resilience can be expressed so they can navigate difficult social situations and come back stronger.
+Assist schools and youth detention centers in their move from punitive disciplinary practices toward positive youth development and healing-centered engagement.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
We give a lot of credit to our board of directors made up of community volunteers who are passionate about our mission. They work hard to fight for youth who are caught up in the pipeline to prison. And we credit them for working to bring a new co-leadership model to our organization and we feel really strongly that all organizations would benefit from a shared leadership model.

We also admire and learn so much from our partners in this work.
We currently work with:
BRITE Collaborative (formerly known as LCJP)
Pathways (Jeffco DAs Office)
Mount View Youth Services Center
Third Way
Skyline Academy
Metropolitan Arts Academy
Columbine Elementary
Valverde Elementary
AUL Denver
Sagebrush Elementary
Boys & Girls Club of Metro-Denver
Scholars Unlimited
Denver Parks & Recreation

Pricing:

• A donation to Mirror Image Arts through our Colorado Gives Day page helps us partner with schools and organizations for free or at a significantly reduced cost.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mirrorimagearts.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirror_image_arts
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirrorimageartsdenver
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mirrorimagearts9933
• Other: https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/Mirrorimagearts