The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) seeks an Engagement Manager for the Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network (B/CAN), a new 10 year city-wide initiative providing strategic and as needed, just in time support for arts entrepreneurs of all disciplines and backgrounds in an effort to foster a stronger, more equitable creative ecosystem and economy in Baltimore.
The B/CAN Engagement Manager will function as the key promoter and navigator for all B/CAN programs, reporting directly to the Executive Director. We are looking for a highly collaborative, passionate, and detail-oriented person who can not only help build excitement for B/CAN and local arts businesses, but will also contribute their ideas and passion for strengthening Baltimore’s creative community to the program.
]]>2 Timothy 1:6-7 - “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
“When God takes control of a life or a church, he takes control through the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is the Helper Jesus sent to do the job. When we fear giving control to the Spirit, we really fear God’s control over our lives. When we refuse to yield to the Spirit, we miss out on the holy excitement of living beyond ourselves. As Paul told Timothy, God did not give him the spirit of timidity; rather, he gave power, love, and self-discipline. Notice, God is the one who gives those gifts, and it is only through the Holy Spirit working in our hearts that we receive them. We cannot live the life God desires for us without the presence of the Holy Spirit, but with him in control of our lives, our hope is in his power and his gifts are available for us to receive. Would you like to love more deeply and more freely? Do you wish to have more self-discipline? Are your life and ministry producing fruit? For those things to happen, you have to surrender to the Helper. But oh the rewards that come when you hand control of your life to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit waits to fulfill the mission he was sent to do-to govern the affairs of every born-again believer.
I encourage you to get alone with God today and spend some time praying about who or what is in control of your life. You and I are going to be controlled by something. There is no question about that. So before you go any further, decide now whom you will yield to. Tell God your questions about being controlled by the Spirit. Present him with your hopes and longings for something more.” (J. Cymbala, Spirit’s Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit. Kindle Location, 549)
- GK
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Chuck Watson ’12, social work, is a leader in the fight against substance abuse. In addition to co-owning two Riverside Treatment Centers in Maryland, Watson is president of the Maryland Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence.
There’s a reason Watson has dedicated his life to helping those struggling with opioid addiction. He knows what his clients are going through because, more than 12 years ago, Watson was going through it himself.
Watson began experimenting with drinking alcohol and smoking pot in middle school and high school. It was recreational, he says, until he lost interest in activities he previously enjoyed.
Soon Watson began going to treatment centers. He would go in, get clean, come out, and use again. By 19, he had been arrested for many DUIs, and in his early 20s, he began using cocaine. “Even at a young age, I understood my substance abuse was a problem,” Watson explains.
Watson got clean on his own in his mid-20s when his then-wife gave birth to their daughter, Dillan. “I wanted to do well,” Watson says. “I wanted to be a good dad.”
As with many addicts, the cycle began again and became worse when Watson got divorced. During the next decade, his life was a spiral of drugs, like pain meds and heroin, treatment centers, and psychiatrists. “Drugs were what I lived for,” says Watson.
While on probation, Watson continued to have dirty tox screens and get arrested. His probation officer gave him the option of going before a judge for probation violation – which would likely mean jail time – or trying an in-patient treatment center in Florida that had shown success with other addicts.
Watson chose treatment, and, this time, it worked.
On September 15, 2005, Watson stopped using. Since then, he has stayed clean. “I realized that I needed to make profound changes in my life,” says Watson. After 10 months in treatment, Watson returned to Baltimore, continued going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and got a home group as well as a sponsor. When he noticed the vast number of people struggling with addiction, he knew what he wanted to do – help them.
Watson worked in the field at many health services centers. He earned his bachelor’s degree at UMBC and then a master’s at University of Maryland, Baltimore. In June 2016, he and two co-workers, Crystal Pulsirisaroth and Michael Oliver, opened the first Riverside Treatment Center, a medication-assisted and client-center facility, in Rosedale. They hoped to have 70 clients in the first six months; they had that many in less than three weeks. Today, they help more than 800 clients.
In June 2017, the Edgewood facility opened. Both centers have same-day intake, which is important to Watson, now 50 and remarried with a family.
“When people make a decision to seek treatment, there is a small window of time. If they can’t get treatment immediately, they may change their minds. Once someone makes this decision, we want to be able to instantly provide the service to help them,” says Watson. “We do this because when people stop using, they get their lives back, and it’s rewarding and satisfying.”
— Michele Wojciechowski
Read about UMBC opioid research: Shining a Light
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For decades, artist David Hess has assembled life-size sculptures of assault rifles from what he calls “rescued” objects — everything from an old black sneaker and vintage turquoise sewing machine, to a raggedy crutch and pink Barbie bike frame — to foster dialogue about one of the most volatile issues of our time. UMBC’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture hosted “Gun Show,” the first-ever display of all 112 sculptures, this fall, as curated by Kathy O’Dell, associate professor of visual arts and special assistant to the dean for education and arts partnerships.