A Volunteer Effort

Stephen Newbold '82 is an architect who specializes in broadcast facilities and works with the media industry in a variety of capacities.

Last December he participated in a unique project when he served as a real-life and on-air architect for Erin Brokovich's ABC-TV special, "Challenge America -- The Rebuilding of New York." The show chronicled the restoration of a city park and public amphitheater (the photos are before and after shots of the building) and highlighted the efforts of Stephen and other volunteers. The project was completed at a record-setting pace -- from the first phone call to the finished space the entire effort was organized in three weeks, with six days of construction. The endeavor was celebrated as the city's first public building effort after September 11, 2001, earned recognition as the project of the year by the Build New York convention, and was featured in numerous television shows and publications.

Reflecting on his role in the undertaking, Stephen writes: "The intriguing part of the project -- aside from it being my first acting job ever, without rehearsal -- was the [way that] leadership and show skills I learned at Ithaca College got to be used on a construction site."

He enjoyed working with Erin Brokovich and helping former Jets player Marty Lions install a soccer field, but his real satisfaction, he says, was the degree to which the project was a tremendous success for the local community, the parks program, and the children of New York City.