Although Anita Kassof was born and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, you’d be hard pressed to find a bigger cheerleader for Baltimore than the longtime Mount Washington resident. A past deputy director at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in N.Y. and former associate director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland, she has served as executive director of the Baltimore Museum of Industry for the past nine years. Kassof, who has two adult children, believes Charm City has “all the ingredients of a world-class American city.”
Jmore talked with with Kassof about the importance of just showing up, thank-you notes, and more.
What inspires you in your work?
I’ve always been fortunate to work with colleagues whom I count as friends and deeply respect on a lot of levels. As a result, it makes coming to work enjoyable, and it ultimately makes for a better work product because so much of what we produce at work is premised on good, solid communication.
What’s inspiring me currently is a fundamental optimism about the possibility that Baltimore holds, and I think that cultural institutions have a really important role to play in keeping cities vibrant.
How about your volunteer work?
The organizations I choose to get involved with and volunteer at are, similarly to the BMI, making Baltimore a better place. I worked at the Jewish Museum of Maryland for 10 years and now sit on the board, and it’s super exciting to see how the institution continues to transform under [JMM executive director Sol’s Davis’s] leadership. I’m also on the board of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, which advocates for the role of artists and arts organizations in Baltimore.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
NPR listeners may remember a series called ‘I Believe.’ There was an essay in that series that I think was called, ‘Always Go to the Funeral.’ What it suggested was that it’s really important for us to show up for our friends, for our colleagues, for what we believe in. I live by that. If you’re asking people to support your institution or to come to your events, you have to show up for theirs and you have to show up with a whole heart.
Do Jewish values inspire your work?
To me, a Jewish value is a commitment to education and learning. I think there’s value in genuinely embracing the idea of being a lifelong learner. I said this in my dad’s eulogy. I think he really stood for that value.
Do you believe that sexism and salary inequity for women will be overcome in your lifetime?
Working in a creative field and in particularly in a museum field, I have the privilege of not feeling the salary disparity. But I think that these kinds of timely questions about work are exactly the kinds of questions that the museum is trying to explore in our programs. The Baltimore Museum of Industry is, at its heart, a museum about work and the experience of workers. I think it’s really significant that you ask that question, because what it connotes is that people are indeed thinking about these pressing questions related to work.
What advice do you have for young women?
Always write a thank-you note. I have a policy not to hire somebody who doesn’t send a thank-you note after the job interview. It’s a common courtesy, but it’s also the acknowledgement that somebody has given their time to you and has gone to the effort of getting to know you. In general, It’s really important to acknowledge people when they do something for you. It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also very helpful professionally.
Jmore talked with Ashley Klapper Pressman, now the Chesapeake Region Program Director for Pearlstone/Adamah, about how Jewish values have influenced her career and the advice she would you give young women entering the workforce today.
Jmore talked with Del. Dalya Attar (D-41st) about what inspires her in her work, the best advice she ever got and more.