Eliza VanCort

Eliza VanCort, a student of the arts and political science, the author of A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO CLAIMING SPACE: Stand Tall. Raise Your Voice. Be Heard. (Four of her former Cook House mentees are quoted in her book!) She is an advisory board member of the Performing Arts for Social Change and the creator of a highly regarded talk commissioned by MIT focused on mentorship and institutionalized racism. She is also the founder of The Actor's Workshop of Ithaca (AWI), Central New York's preeminent Meisner Technique acting studio. Having led a life that any Hollywood studio would immediately dismiss as being too-hard-to-believe, she has dedicated herself to empowering women of all experiences and backgrounds to claim space. VanCort, who joined the chorus of women fiercely proclaiming #MeToo - gave a 2018 TED talk on Women, Power and Revolutionizing Speech in which she shared her personal story and offered actionable, transformative tools for real change.