President
Mindy Duitz, President
With over 25 years experience in the arts, education and philanthropy, Mindy Duitz is a seasoned nonprofit executive whose career has largely focused on meeting the educational needs and interests of children and their families.
In the mid-seventies, Duitz was the first director of the Staten Island Children’s Museum, where she brought a new institution from concept to reality. She later served as director of The Brooklyn Children's Museum in Crown Heights – the world's first museum for children (1899) – where she revitalized an established one.
Following her museum work, Duitz became a nonprofit management consultant, allowing for a more flexible schedule in order to focus on her family. In this capacity, she advised a wide variety of organizations on strategic planning, outreach, fund development and programming. Recent clients included the NYC Department of Education, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York Community Trust, Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP) and the Museum of Chinese in the Americas. In addition, Duitz spent four years as a Program Development Fellow with the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation), where she managed the Arts Initiative for U.S. Programs, which helped to increase access to the arts for underserved youth.
Duitz has a Master’s Degree in Art History, and served as a member of the board of the American Association of Museums (AAM). She was born in Brooklyn and now lives with her family on Staten Island. The daughter of a public school teacher and a photographer, she attended public school in New York City and is a graduate of SUNY Binghamton. Her daughter currently attends the NYC Lab School in Chelsea.
Throughout her career, Duitz has aligned her efforts with organizations committed to advancing social change, helping to foster civic dialogue, and promoting the responsibility of nonprofit institutions to their communities. She was attracted to Learning Leaders by these qualities as well as the organization’s direct involvement in the schools, service to parents, and outreach to immigrant populations.
