A Bittersweet Goodbye
- Lauren Meehan
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Giving Flowers to Two of
Arts Ed Newark's Finest
A THANK YOU to Sanaz Hojreh and Mayuri Chandra for a combined 28 YEARS of service to Arts Ed Newark
Dear Friends,
I'm writing to share the bittersweet news that today we say goodbye (for now) to Sanaz Hojreh and Mayuri Chandra. While we're sad to see them go, we're genuinely excited for the new chapters ahead in their journeys. During their time at Arts Ed Newark, Sanaz and Mayuri have each left a lasting mark — from our Healing Centered Arts Learning program to SummerQUEST and NAF Kids, their dedication and passion have strengthened our mission and touched countless lives across Newark.
As I recently celebrated my 10th year as Director — and now Executive Director, as we became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2025 — I found myself reflecting on everything Arts Ed Newark has accomplished. None of it would have been possible without the tireless work, deep love of Newark, and passion for arts education that these two women brought to our collective work.
Sanaz was a founding member of what began as the Newark Arts Education Roundtable (NAER) back in 2010, building the foundation of this collective impact initiative alongside others, including former Leadership Council members Alysia Souder and Rodney Gilbert. In 2014, after sixteen years at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, including a decade as Assistant Vice President for Arts Education, Sanaz became Director of NAER. When she relocated to Philadelphia, she passed the baton to me — a young professional with a lifetime of arts education experience but little nonprofit administration background. Even from Philadelphia, and then DC, she never stopped supporting and guiding me. She has continued as a consultant to Arts Ed Newark since 2017, focusing on evaluation and our Healing Centered and Trauma Informed Care work — work grounded in her certifications as a Trauma Competent Professional through Lakeside Global Institute and a Healing Centered Engagement Practitioner through Flourish Agenda. It was Sanaz who launched our data and evaluation work as Director back in 2015, and over the past decade she has helped build it into a true learning community — one that has supported more than 20 partner organizations in developing a shared language around evaluation and helped us collect and analyze over 30,000 student surveys tracking the impact of arts programming across Newark. That same spirit shaped our Healing-Centered Engagement work, which since 2020 has trained more than 1,000 educators and community members in trauma-informed, healing-centered practice — work that has since expanded beyond Newark. Today, Sanaz also runs her own independent consulting practice supporting schools, organizations, and foundations across the field, with projects ranging from helping the School District of Philadelphia implement its arts and creativity framework to co-developing the Culturally Responsive Arts Education Workout for Arts Ed New Jersey. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers University with degrees in Theater Arts and Business, she was, and will always be, my and Arts Ed Newark's biggest cheerleader.
Mayuri came to Arts Ed Newark (NAER at the time) in 2014 and brought more than thirteen years of experience in arts and museum education, having developed, administered, and evaluated programs for audiences of all ages in Boston, New York, and London. Fresh off her master's in arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2005, she spent two years in the Adult Education department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, overseeing gallery programs and a weekly lecture series. She went on to manage all teen programming — in-school and out — across all five boroughs for Studio in a School in New York City, developing curricula, administering sites, and reporting to foundations and funders while building mentorships, workshops, internships, and afterschool classes from the ground up. As the sole staff member of American Friends of Attingham, a UK-based nonprofit devoted to the study of historic houses, she ran membership, development, and communications for a global network of arts leaders. She brought that same rigor, care, and relationship-building to her work as our Project Manager, managing our partnership program and helping us grow SummerQUEST and community engagement, and Arts Ed Newark is stronger for it.
But beyond everything they've built professionally, Sanaz and Mayuri are, quite simply, extraordinary people — extraordinary sisters, daughters, mothers, aunties and friends. I've been lucky enough to experience that firsthand. When my father was in the hospital for heart surgery, and later, as I went through my own breast cancer recovery, Sanaz and Mayuri were there for me — not as colleagues checking in out of obligation, but as family. Their support during those hardest moments is something I will never forget, and it says everything about who they are. While we will miss them dearly, their decision to move on comes with our full support and gratitude. This is an amicable parting, and we remain deeply appreciative of the time, energy, and heart they've invested in our work.
Please join us in celebrating Sanaz and Mayuri and wishing them every success in what's next. We'll be gathering for a casual send-off, so look out for a Save The Date soon. We'd love for you to join us in sharing memories, laughter, and good wishes.
Thank you, Sanaz and Mayuri, for everything. You will always be part of the Arts Ed Newark family. We know we will see you both soon!
Warmly, Lauren Meehan Executive Director Arts Ed Newark
17 Academy Street, Suite 201, Newark, NJ 07102 | 862-800-7291