SINCE INCEPTION

30,420

STUDENTS REACHED

1,858

INSTRUCTORS TRAINED

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OUR WORK

Choose Creativity, powered by the Lulu and Leo Fund, empowers teachers, children, and families to build resilience, creative confidence, and social-emotional skills through our Learn with Creative Confidence program. We provide training, curriculum, and on-going support for educators based on the 10 Principles of Creativity.

We work with school communities such as ones within NYC’s DOE District 4 in East Harlem, and District 5 in Harlem, to provide high quality, bilingual programming to combat a multitude of challenges including chronic absenteeism. Our program Learn with Creative Confidence folds the language of confident learning into daily classroom practice, academic instruction, and beyond, creating a culture of self-efficacy, resilience and empathy.

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THE ORIGIN OF OUR PROGRAM

When faced with the tragic loss of two of their children, Marina Krim, a former educator, and her husband Kevin chose to rebuild their lives in a way that felt authentic to them – by tapping into their creative confidence. By formalizing and scaling the invaluable teachings Marina germinated in her classroom and their home with the children, they came up with Choose Creativity and the 10 Principles of Creativity.

Marina and Kevin recognize that creativity is an essential life-skill and therefore must be nurtured and cultivated as part of a child’s educational experience. They collaborated with psychologists, school administrators and education experts like Dr. Stephanie Jones of the Harvard Graduate School of Education to build Learn with Creative Confidence, a SEL curriculum that empowers teachers, elementary-aged children, and families to build self-efficacy skills.

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WHY CREATIVITY MATTERS

Resilient and creative people share personal characteristics such as flexibility, resourcefulness, adaptability, and originality. Building and strengthening these skills – key outcomes of our Learn with Creative Confidence program – are positive counterbalances to adversity. When we are creative, we find ourselves imagining the viewpoint of others, leading to more positive relationships, communication skills, and perspective-taking abilities.

Nurturing our authenticity, inventiveness, and curiosity will be essential for adapting to this rapidly-changing world.

OUR CHOOSE CREATIVITY STORY

2012

Lulu & Leo Fund is founded by Marina and Kevin Krim after the deaths of two of their children, 6-year-old Lulu and 2-year-old Leo

2013

The Fund, an IRS-approved 501(c)(3), begins giving grants to arts-based organizations

2016

The Krims articulate the 10 Principles of Creativity as a way to explain how creativity helped them survive and thrive in the face of trauma and adversity

2016

We train instructors at an after-school program in the Bronx to implement our first original program, SuperArtist, based on the 10 Principles, and continue to expand across the five boroughs

2017

We transition from a memorial fund to Choose Creativity, a mission-driven organization to build social emotional skills and resilience in children and adults

2020-2022
During the disruption of COVID, we create a K-6 whole-school curriculum, Learn with Creative Confidence, and begin piloting it in various schools across the US
2022

We begin work with Harvard Graduate School of Education’s EASEL Lab to validate our curriculum’s impact

2022

Choose Creativity reaches milestone of 20,000 students served

2023

We partner for the first time with the NYC Dept. of Education in District 4 in East Harlem to implement our curriculum in several of their schools

2023
We translate our entire curriculum into Spanish
2023
We begin our first whole-school implementation at District 4’s Mosaic Prep in East Harlem for the 2023/2024 school year
2024
We continue training more schools within District 4 to use our curriculum

MEET THE TEAM

Hannah Haas

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Denisse Minaya

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Stephanie Krieger

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Marina Krim

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Nancy Quach

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Naomi Guzman-Bensdon

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MARINA KRIM

Co-founder & Creative Director,
Lulu & Leo Fund

KEVIN KRIM

Co-founder & Chair, Lulu & Leo Fund
CEO, EDO Inc.

BRIAN C. FOX

Treasurer, Lulu & Leo Fund
President, Commercial Solutions, Klick

MAURA MILLER

Managing Director – Equities
Compliance, Credit Suisse

CHAD HARBACH

Author, The Art of Fielding
Senior Editor, n+1

SONALI THEISEN

Managing Director – Head of FICC E-Trading & Market Structure, BoA Merrill Lynch

LINDSAY TOMENSON

Chief Professional Development Officer, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

RICHARD WOLFFE

Columnist, The Guardian
Book author

Elizabeth Sweeney

Former Assistant Principal, PS 234

Hannah Haas

Director of Programs and School Partnerships

Hannah is an experienced nonprofit leader with a strong background in education, youth development, and organizational strategy. She most recently served as Director of Operations at Harlem Grown, where she oversaw a $7M budget, led cross-functional initiatives, and built community partnerships aligned with food justice and youth empowerment. Previously, she held senior leadership roles at Teach For America, directing national training programs that supported hundreds of educators and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She started her career as an elementary educator in both charter and public schools. Hannah brings expertise in program strategy, project management, and team development, along with a deep commitment to equity and sustainable organizational growth. She holds a Master’s in Education from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s from The College of Wooster.

Denisse Minaya

Program Manager

Denisse graduated with a BA in Media and Communication Studies from Lehman College. She brings a wealth of experience in program management and logistical coordination. Previously, Denisse worked as a Program Assistant for the New York City Department of Education, where she supported special education services across multiple schools. Her background also includes experience in media and communications through her work with the ASAP Foundation and as a communications intern for Rapid Realty. Denisse’s strong organizational skills, fluency in Spanish, leadership capabilities, and commitment to collaboration enable her to contribute to impactful educational programs in New York City and beyond.

Headshot of Stephanie Krieger

Stephanie Krieger

Executive Director
Stephanie has a combination of programming and fundraising experience and a lifelong passion for making creativity accessible to everyone. Prior to joining the Lulu & Leo Fund, Stephanie served as Manager of the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund, raising millions in corporate revenue. Her previous experience includes working in Development at MoMA and planning volunteer events for the corporate sponsors of New York Cares. Stephanie earned a BA in Art History and Business from Muhlenberg College and holds a MA in Arts Administration from Columbia University.
Headshot of Marina Krim

Marina Krim

Creative Director

Marina is a mother, teacher, artist, entrepreneur, and co-founder and board member of the Lulu & Leo Fund and ChooseCreativity.org. Marina turned the tragic loss of two of her children into an inspirational movement and creative curricula that empower children, families, and communities to survive and thrive in the face of adversity. Marina earned her MA and BA degrees in Education from the University of Southern California, and has been a teacher in California and New York, as well as founder of several creative businesses. Marina resides in New York with her family.

Headshot of Nancy Quach

Nancy Quach

Program/Administrative Assistant
Nancy holds an MS degree in Education with a concentration in Mental Health Counseling and a BA in Psychology from St. John’s University. When not working at the Fund, she is a professional skating coach at Chelsea Piers. For the past 15 years, Nancy has taught a creative skill-based curriculum to various age groups. Nancy worked as a preschool director prior to joining the Lulu & Leo Fund, where she developed an on-ice and off-ice curriculum that has made the program so successful today.

Naomi Guzman-Bensdon

Director of Development

Naomi brings over 7 years of nonprofit expertise including fundraising, events, and operations. With a passion for education, social equity, and the arts, Naomi believes in the power of creativity to drive social change. Prior to joining Choose Creativity, Naomi served as Assistant Director of Individual Giving at CancerCare, as well as held positions at Red Hook Initiative, Kaufman Music Center, and Tanglewood Music Center. Naomi earned a B.M. in Music Management with an Emphasis in Voice from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.