Susan Morton Blaustein facts for kids

Susan Morton Blaustein (born 22 March 1953) is an American woman who helps people around the world. She is a professor and also gives money to good causes. She started and leads an organization called WomenStrong International. This group helps local women's organizations worldwide. They bring these groups together to share ideas and make their solutions stronger. Their goal is to make life better for women and families in cities and to help achieve equality for everyone. Ms. Blaustein also teaches at Columbia University. Before this, she was a journalist and studied international issues. She was also a talented composer who won many awards.

Early Life and Education

Susan Blaustein was born in Palo Alto, California. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland.

Her family has a history of making a difference. Her great-grandfather, Louis Blaustein, and grandfather, Jacob Blaustein, created a special kind of gasoline in 1911. They then started the American Oil Company (AMOCO). Her grandfather, Jacob Blaustein, was also a leader in human rights. He advised several US presidents, including Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy. He worked hard to make sure human rights were included in the rules of the United Nations. He also helped people get back what they lost after the Holocaust.

Ms. Blaustein went to The Park School in Baltimore. She then studied music composition at Pomona College, graduating in 1975. She continued her music studies in Belgium and at Brandeis University. She earned a high-level degree in music composition from the Yale School of Music in 1986.

While at Yale, Ms. Blaustein received many awards for her music. She also received money to create new musical pieces. She was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. There, she wrote more music, including a large piece for singers and orchestra.

Career Highlights

Ms. Blaustein's career began in music. While at Yale, she composed her "Fantasie for Piano Solo" and other works. During her time at Harvard, she finished her piece called Song of Songs. This was first performed by the American Composers Orchestra in 1985. She also wrote a cello concerto, which was first played at the Library of Congress in 1984.

From 1985 to 1989, she was an assistant professor of music at Columbia University. During this time, she completed her music degree and composed many more pieces.

In 1988, Ms. Blaustein's life changed when she visited Manila, Philippines. She went there because her husband, Alan Berlow, opened the first Asia office for National Public Radio. She saw the difficulties many people faced there. She started reporting on people battling extreme poverty and injustice. This experience made her passionate about telling their stories.

Ms. Blaustein reported on conflicts, politics, and social problems from countries like the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. She also reported from Washington, DC, and other places. Her articles appeared in well-known magazines and newspapers like The New Yorker and The Washington Post.

In 1998, she began working with the International Crisis Group. She focused on areas like Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serbia, working with other groups that help people. She also reported on the conflict in East Timor. Later, she joined the Coalition for International Justice. There, she continued to report on serious human rights problems.

In 2006, Ms. Blaustein helped start The Millennium Cities Initiative. This project lasted ten years and helped cities in Africa develop in a way that could last. During this work, Ms. Blaustein and her team noticed something important. Women in these cities always understood the problems their communities faced. They also had good ideas for solutions. However, they often didn't have the resources to make their ideas happen.

This observation led Ms. Blaustein and her colleagues to create WomenStrong International in 2014–15. This organization gives money and support to groups that work to improve the lives of women and girls in cities worldwide. Since it started, WomenStrong International has given out almost $10 million in grants. It now works with 18 partner organizations in 15 different countries.

Other Activities

Ms. Blaustein has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations. These include Physicians for Human Rights, which works to protect health and human rights. She has also been involved with groups focused on ethics, global leadership, and human rights.

Recognition and Awards

Ms. Blaustein has received many honors for her work. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1988. She also received a Harvard Junior Fellowship from 1982 to 1985. Other awards came from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Many artists have asked her to compose music for them. Her music has been performed by groups like the American Composers Orchestra and the Kronos Quartet.

In 2019, Ms. Blaustein was named one of the "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" by Women's eNews. She also received the Ban Ki-moon Award for Women's Empowerment in 2018.

Works

Some of her selected musical works include:

• To Orpheus for mixed chorus, based on poems by Rilke, 1922
• Ricercate: String Quartet No. 1, 1981

She has also written professional articles, such as "The Survival of Aesthetics: Books by Boulez, Delio, Rochberg" in Perspectives of New Music in 1989.