News & Notices
Add Gramza as Communications Associate
Janet Gramza, USITT's new communications associate, is an award-winning journalist who brings more than 30 years of writing experience to her new position with the Institute. Her dynamic approach to her craft will be seen in Sightlines and in other Institute publications.
Janet Gramza
She, her husband, and two children live in a log cabin on the edge of New York's fabled snow belt, but she rarely lets that interfere with her active life. Indeed, they recently purchased a seasonal home on the shores of Lake Ontario, directly in the path of the snow. "We closed it up for the winter," she says, but come spring the family will enjoy fabulous water sunsets and sometimes renting it out to others, another new adventure.
Janet is an identical twin, born at a time when parents could be surprised to learn at the hospital that they would be taking home more than one baby. Both chose careers as writers. While Joyce is a graduate of NYU, Janet received her degree from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Journalism.
As a senior, Janet served as a "stringer" for the Syracuse daily newspaper, and when she graduated, she took a job there. After a five-year stint she moved to Stamford, Connecticut but then moved back to Central New York and resumed her career at the Post Standard, often assigned to long-term feature stories. Among her favorites was a series where she and a photographer followed Dee Barney as she battled inflammatory breast cancer, an emotional journey to chronicle. The series won both state and national recognition.
Janet finds writing to be an interesting challenge, especially when she is able to talk to an expert in one area and translate the information she receives for a broader audience. As USITT works to expand knowledge about the organization, Janet's skills will be put to good use.
In her time away from USITT ‘s Syracuse offices, Janet enjoys swimming, cooking, skiing (on snow rather than water), writing feature stories for a variety of publications, and serving as secretary for her church.
"Janet is a great addition to USITT," noted Barbara E.R. Lucas, USITT Communication Director. "She is an asset and will allow us to reach out to tell USITT's story to an even broader audience."
