The John R. Oishei Foundation

Lessons Learned, led by Aitina Fareed-Cooke and Get Fokus'd Productions, brings creative leaders together to talk planning, process, and project management in the digital storytelling industry — the often unseen work that makes powerful stories possible.

If you’re a storyteller, creative entrepreneur, nonprofit communicator, student, or anyone managing narrative work, this is a conversation worth being part of. Spaces like this help practitioners share knowledge, strengthen relationships, and build sustainable creative ecosystems.

Buffalo, NY — Aitina Fareed-Cooke, The Creative Arts Strategist, Founder of Get Fokus’d Productions and Buffalo’s Poet Laureate, presents Lessons Learned, an ongoing series of conversations with leaders in the creative economy. Produced in collaboration with Get Fokus’d Productions and Villa Maria College, Lessons Learned brings together celebrated voices from digital storytelling and the literary arts to share insights, strategies, and practical advice for thriving in today’s creative marketplace.

Join us Feb 25th at for a panel discussion centered around Planning, Process & Project Management in the Digital Storytelling Industry

Panelists include:

Moderated by

Today, we’re proud to join with partners across Western New York to launch the WNY Forward Fund—a collaborative effort designed to strengthen our nonprofit sector during a time of significant federal cuts and shifting priorities.

This multi-year fund supports strategic alliances, shared services, mergers, and other innovative partnerships that can help nonprofits stay strong, stable, and responsive to community needs. It also invests in civic health, access to justice, and impact storytelling—critical pillars of community power.

Nonprofits across all eight WNY counties are invited to apply. Applications for Strategic Alliance grants are open now through December 12. Learn more or start an application at https://www.cfgb.org/community-change/initiatives/wny-forward-fund/.

Please join us in thanking Dr. Mark J. Scott for nearly four years of dedicated service to the Oishei Foundation and to our community.

Mark has played a meaningful role in advancing equity, strengthening community partnerships, and supporting organizations across Western New York. We are grateful for his leadership, his partnership, and the care he brought to this work.

As Mark now moves into an exciting new chapter as the founder of glidE2, an initiative designed to spark innovation and economic empowerment in Niagara Falls, we wish him the very best and thank him for all he has contributed to the Foundation and to our region.

Special thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Mark!

📸Kalvin Booker / Through His Lens Photography in collaboration with Get Fokus’d Productions.

Join our partners at Partnership for the Public Good and add your voice to this timely conversation about how federal cuts are showing up in Buffalo. Hear how local leaders and organizations are pushing back to protect basic services and community well-being.

Thursday, 5:30 PM
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 724 Delaware Ave
Food & fellowship, followed by a community conversation
Register: bit.ly/PPGBuffConvening

Join us for a conversation about how federal cuts are impacting our community's critical programs and services--both right now and in the years ahead. Residents and community groups are welcome to attend.

PPG will start by presenting a new fact sheet on federal cuts and their impacts in Buffalo. Then, we'll share our survey findings about how those cuts are impacting our partners and their work. We will also hear insights from local leaders, and we'll connect with partner organizations that are resisting these cuts and protecting basic services for our communities.

Join us at 5:30pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 724 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, for food and fellowship, followed by a brief presentation and community conversation from 6pm-7:30pm.

This event is free and open to the public. Please register here: bit.ly/PPGBuffConvening