Born in Glencoe, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, he attended New Trier Township High School. Later he attended Hampshire College and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a B.A. in Geography, Summa Cum Laude. This included 3.8 GPA, completion of a Capstone Course, and honors for an interdepartmenal thesis and membership in Eta Sigma Phi, Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key honors societies. He was a member of CILA (Community for Integrative Learning and Action), and on the President's Council of the Creative Education Foundation.
Podolsky opened an art gallery and spurred on the creation of the Northampton Community Arts Night Out which includes the participation over 20 art galleries. As Producer of the Whole Health Expo, his role includes
management, strategic direction, marketing, publishing a 28-32 page program guide, and creative alliance
building. His interest in holistic enterprises started with exposure to a
number of different modalities as a patient/consumer, as well as studies of the relationship between science and religion. Other creative work includes creating print ads, radio
commercials, networking, and collaborating with an architect and a builder on 2 projects.
- Ran business for 5 years, including publishing and event management
- Creating groups (Noho Film Group, Western Massachusetts Jewish Genealogy Society)
- Opened contemporary art gallery
- Trained with/participated in workshops: Dale Carnegie, Creative Problem Solving Institute, Franklin Covey, C-Level Business Design, Outward Bound CityQuest
- B.A. in Geography, Summa Cum Laude / 3.8 GPA
Creativity
- Creating novel concepts on the fly
- Creating business and website names (Nextopia Corporation, Local Monkey, Last Minute Gallery, King ArthursRock.com) and phone number acronyms (586.NOHO and 866.WHE.EXPO for my company in Northampton)
- Designing websites using a Content Management System, collaborating on home and commercial office
- Graphic design including logos, print ads, and publications
- Designing advanced diagrams that synthesize academic texts
- Collaborating on interior design projects
- Copywriting
- Synthesizing complex ideas into graphics
- Full length article on marketing published in Spirit of Change Magazine: Click here to download
- Radio Commercial (Written and Recorded by JP): Click here to download
Business
- Reaching decision makers and top-level executives
- Creating alliances and collaborations
- Public Relations, writing press releases, contacting press, being interviewed
- Ad buys and guerrilla marketing
- Networking for multi-organizational collaboration
- Sales:
consultative style, relationship building, cold calling, upselling,
cross-selling, generating renewals, finding sponsors, breaking in new products and geographic territories
Event Planning and Production
- Whole Health Expo (up to 2000 attendees)
- Art Openings (50-200)
- Genealogy Meetings
- Film Discussion Meetings
- Career Panel at Smith College Career Development Office
- Northampton Arts Night Out (involved 10-20 art galleries)
- Starting and Growing Your Holistic Business
- Film Screenings
- Lecture at Creative Problem Solving Institute
