Imagine All The People

MORE THAN 40 years ago, the only thing Lori (Goodman) Kissinger '84 wanted was to graduate high school, get married, stay home and bake cookies. Fortunately, that didn't pan out. Instead, she's spent a lifetime in the art world creating opportunities for everyone to showcase their talent. Especially, people with disabilities.

Lori's life has always been steeped in the arts. An accomplished musical virtuoso, she plays 100 instruments. "I have training on the harp, guitar and voice," she says. "The rest were learned by ear and research."

After graduating from USI with a bachelor's degree in marketing, she rotated through a few jobs before taking a position with the Evansville Arts Council (known today as the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana). "I was hired as the Program Coordinator where I was responsible for the Ohio River Arts Festival, Affiliate Artist Program and Press Youth Awards," she says. "Within six months, I was moved into the Executive Director position which I held for 10 years."

During Lori's tenure with the Council, she developed deep roots and was known for showcasing local talent internationally. "The organization started a program called A.C.E. (Arts, Culture, and Education). The art departments from all five Evansville public high schools selected one art student to work on a project focused on another country," she says. "We then took those students to that country."

It could be argued that the impetus for Lori eventually starting a nonprofit in Tennessee—one dedicated to bringing the arts to people with disabilities and receiving the Governor's Arts Award in Arts Leadership in 2023—began with a volunteer she'd met while working at the Arts Council in 1996. "One of our volunteers was connected to Indiana's Very Special Arts (VSA) affiliate program. He had a child with a disability and wanted to add an accessible element to the Ohio River Arts Festival children's area," says Lori. "Which we did. We were able to do this by receiving a grant from VSA Indiana."

The additional program to the Ohio River Arts Festival also opened a new door in Lori's life. "At that time VSA had a lot of festivals and because I played music, I was invited to use music to work with the special education students," she says. As accomplished as Lori is, however, she tends to balk.

Lori was concerned she lacked experience working with people with disabilities. But when she learned VSA offered a master artists training program, that would qualify her to work in schools' Special Education classes using music as an educational tool, she agreed. The experience ignited a new drive in Lori. "I ended up doing my second graduate degree thesis on how to use music as a communication tool with children with disabilities."

Teaching became a passion for Lori. Aside from her USI undergraduate degree, she holds two master's degrees, one in library science and another in communication. While still living in Evansville, she began teaching communication courses at USI. "I taught for about three years under Bob Jeffers. Prior to that, I taught for several years in continuation education, while working at the Arts Council and playing music," she says.

The blend of passions—art and education—culminated when she and her husband (they met at USI) moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

She took a teaching position at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in the Communication Studies Department, where she's been for the past 22 years racking up awards. "I love teaching and love my students," she says.

While she thrived at MTSU, she missed being a working music teacher for VSA Indiana and hoped to continue the work in Tennessee. Except, VSA didn't have an affiliate program in Tennessee.

Lori called her contacts in Indiana to inquire further and a week later she received a call from the VSA office in Washington D.C., asking her to form an affiliate in Tennessee. "They knew I had run the Arts Council in Evansville and that I was a VSA artist," she says. "I told them no. I knew what it took to run a nonprofit and I knew no one in Tennessee."

She agreed to form the organization's structure, however, with the idea of turning it over to someone else. That never happened. Instead, she became the Director. "I wrote the bylaws, found the board members, created the programs, etc.," says Lori. "We got our 501(c)3 and went through all of the requirements to be an independent nonprofit, but we were part of a bigger picture."

Lori was the sole employee of the VSA Tennessee affiliate, operating it out of her home for 16 years while teaching full time at MTSU. In 2010, however, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts absorbed the VSA program and discontinued the affiliates seven years later. Not to be deterred from her passion project, Lori pivoted. "I had to reform the organization," she says. "We changed our name to Borderless Arts Tennessee. We changed our logo. We did not have to refile with the IRS and our mission and Board stayed the same, however, we did have to rebrand."

Over the decades, Lori's dedication to the arts and disabled people has led to some stunning accomplishments for the nonprofit's participants. "Our musicians have played on every major stage in Tennessee: the Ryman, Dollywood, the Grand Ole Opry House, CMA, the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Caverns and more." Lori may be the only Borderless Arts Tennessee employee, but she is not alone in her work. "I may have conceived and birthed it, but its success is tied to many, many people. The artistic quality comes from having some outstanding teaching artists that lead our projects, extremely generous donors that provide the funding and an amazing board."

For someone who only wanted to get married, stay home and bake cookies, Lori's life did not turn out as she envisioned, but so much sweeter. "This [organization] is my baby, and the people here have brought more into my life than I ever thought was possible," she says. "None of this was the direction I saw for my life, but it certainly ended up being more than I imagined."

When Mattel came to campus in the spring of 1982 looking for students to represent a living Barbie at fashion shows and in parades, Lori (Goodman) Kissinger '84 thought it sounded like a fun gig. "I have always liked to make people happy, and this seemed to do just that. Barbie had done many things in her life and was a good, wholesome role model," she said.

Lori fit Mattel's criteria in height, hair coloring and dimensions, so she filled out an application and got the job. "I had recently worked very hard to lose a lot of weight," she said, "and this challenge seemed like something that would help me keep it off."

During her tenure as Barbie, Lori's role was to appear in regional fashion shows and parades wearing upscale Barbie clothes and sign Barbie headshot photographs, event fliers and boxes of Barbies girls purchased at the events. Before each event, Lori went to the home of the Mattel representative in Newburgh, Indiana, to try on the outfit to ensure it fit. "The outfits were selected by Mattel based on promotions and the newest Barbie fashions. I remember a beautiful silky pantsuit and two beautiful formal gowns. One was called peaches and crème. I wore it in several parades," she said. "The other was red and white."

Not only was it fun strutting runways as a living Barbie, but Lori was paid too. "That job helped me pay for a lot of things when I was in college."

She worked as Barbie all through her college years and for several years after graduating. "I was Mattel's longest running Barbie model and was given one of the costumes (a Cowgirl outfit) to keep," she said.