Programs and Administrative Assistant
Lena Rubin (they/them) started at Village Preservation as an intern, beginning in June of 2020. As Programs and Administrative Assistant, since September 2020, Lena keeps our programs and office running.
Born in Manhattan, Lena maintained a deep connection to the city while growing up in the Lower Hudson Valley region of New York State. They graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University in 2018 with a degree in History. In their senior thesis, they examined the themes of collective memory and urban spatial practices in the 1871 Paris Commune: a three-month-long protest movement and occupation led by the city’s working classes. They are inspired by the ways in which practices of historical commemoration can help us build stronger communities and a more just future. Lena also has a strong interest in the role of art in creating historical records.
Lena’s interest in history originated when they volunteered at the Hastings Historical Society in their hometown of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, as a high school student. They have worked for the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, an organization devoted to celebrating the artistic history of America’s oldest art colony in Provincetown, Massachusetts, as well as for Oxford University Press, where they were an Editorial Assistant for History and Oral History books. Lena lives in Brooklyn. They enjoy writing, painting, practicing yoga, and riding their bike in Prospect Park.
Lena feels a deep connection to the Jewish, queer, leftist, and artistic histories connected to Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo and the surrounding areas. Lena says, “I am honored to be working for an organization that fosters a sense of place and a shared history in these neighborhoods that I have been drawn to from a young age. I’m grateful to be able to help create public programs that get people interested in history, and to do the behind-the-scenes work that helps our organization thrive and connect with its community.”
