A Few Minutes With Brittney Carey
11.22.2022
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LISC StoriesA Few Minutes with...
Brittney Carey views herself as a fun-loving blend of Miss Frizzle and Wonder Woman, traits that come in handy in her role with Outside the Lens.
Based in Liberty Station, Outside the Lens provides a wide range of after-school workshops and programs for young people and adults in the creative crafts of photography, filmmaking and digital media.
With her effervescent spirit and passion for children’s rights, Brittney manages many of OTL’s outreach programs. She also serves as a mentor of dozens of LISC AmeriCorps members, those who serve in a variety of roles with non-profit social service agencies throughout the county.
A graduate of Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, with a master’s in legal studies from Santa Barbara College of Law, she joined Outside the Lens late last year.
Originally from San Bernardino, Brittney studied abroad in South Africa before returning to her native Southern California several years ago.
"We help them unlock their artistic side.”
What inspires you most about your role?
I love the work we’re able to do within schools, sharing the creativity our team of media educators brings to our students. We share our passion for the arts, so that they’re more inspired to freely express themselves. Along the way, we help them unlock their artistic side so that they’re better able to use those skills to enhance their lives.
When you say “children’s rights,” what does that mean to you?
In our role as childhood educators, our role comes down to providing “voice and choice” to our students. We believe that access to high-quality, arts-oriented programs should not be limited by where you live or what you can or can’t afford.
In what ways are you more like Miss Frizzle than Wonder Woman?
Like Miss Frizzle, I enjoy chaotic creativity, so we make sure we have lots of fun in whatever projects we’re doing. In doing that, we create a classroom environment that’s supportive and caring. There are times, though, when I wish I was more like Wonder Woman than I really am.
What was most meaningful about your work in South Africa?
What I remember most is how I learned so many different perspectives about ethnic identity and culture, and about how we’re all different in so many ways but we’re the same, as well. I was better able to understand the larger context of education, with a better sense of how the process of learning and curiosity shapes and re-shapes our lives.
How would you describe your own artistic style?
During the worst of the quarantine, I started to dabble in watercolor painting, which is very beginner-friendly. Lately, I’ve been trying to expand my own creativity because I feel like as we get older, we tend to lose that. But being creative isn’t only for children, it’s for a lifetime.