Jessica Locke
Evolution of a Practice Through Mutual Generosity: The Amazing Story of the Fire Department of New York City Post 9/11 and the Alexander Technique
This lecture is an intimate look into an extraordinary period of American history. Following the events of September 11, 2001, Jessica Locke repeatedly traveled from Boston to New York City to volunteer her services as an Alexander Technique practitioner at a firehouse near Ground Zero. Bringing the Alexander work to men who did not see themselves as needing help was a major challenge. In a startling reversal of roles, however, they would give her a lesson in return: She would find that they were allowing her to help them in order to make her feel valuable at a time when everyone felt so powerless.
With her personal and increasing awareness of the long-term health needs of these brave first responders, she would write a memoir "Rescue at Engine 32" to raise funds to continue her work with them. The book has served to create interest and inquiry about the Alexander Technique in populations that would not normally be exposed. As a result, Jessica now has a fulltime practice in Cambridge, MA.
Jessica Locke received her certification in the Alexander Technique from The Alexander Technique Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts under the direction of Tommy Thompson. She holds a B.F.A. from Ohio State University and a Master’s Degree in Voice from The New England Conservatory of Music. An accomplished composer, she has scored multiple documentaries, including the long running Visionaries series on PBS, and Race to the Moon: The Apollo 8 Story on American Experience.
After 9/11, Jessica traveled to New York City to provide Alexander lessons for a Ground Zero firehouse. The lessons produced beneficial effects for firefighters suffering from post-traumatic stress and respiratory illness. In order to provide this support for the long term, she created the Jessica Locke Firefighters Fund. Jessica’s recently released memoir, Rescue at Engine 32, will be used as a fundraiser to open an alternative health care facility in NYC to continue the rehabilitation of these firefighters. She makes regular television and public speaking appearances on behalf of firefighters everywhere.
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