No Barriers

An Inclusive Circus with Lisa Lewis

Episode Summary

Jeff and Erik speak with the founder of Omnium Circus. With a global pandemic comes essential change. The time is NOW for diversity and inclusion to take center ring. No longer an after-thought, full inclusion and access for performers, audiences, staff, and board members is the Omnium Opportunity to gather the brightest minds and the best talent from across the globe to bring you a Bold New Circus. This episode is brought to you by Arrow Electronics.

Episode Notes

Lisa Lewis began her career with Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She earned a master’s degree in Clown/Circus History from NYU. During the same period, she co-founded the Super Scientific Circus, a STEAM-based series of 6 shows which tour the country using Circus Skills to make science fun and accessible for all learning styles. 

Lisa received her certification from Marquis Studios as a teaching artist for District 75 specializing in Autism and at-risk youth in NYC where she taught for four years. Lisa performed with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit and inspired by the efforts to serve new audiences, she became project coordinator for Circus of the Senses, a performance adapted for blind, visually impaired, Deaf, hard of hearing, and those who are neuro-diverse. 

Lisa doubled the reach of the program and seeing a need in the community, she created the Embracing Autism performances. Lisa expanded both offerings and audiences, created an inclusive training program for staff, and supported organization-wide inclusive hiring practices.

Now, Lisa is the founder and mastermind behind A Bold New Circus: Omnium. 

A special thanks to Arrow Electronics for sponsoring this episode as part of their series highlighting people pioneering inclusive technology.

Resources:

Learn more about Omnium Circus: https://omniumcircus.org/

Follow Omnium on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube