Lois Holzman is co-founder (with Fred Newman) and director of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy, which for nearly three decades has functioned as an independent research, training and organizing center at the forefront of new approaches to human development, learning, therapeutics and community building. As a leading proponent of a cultural approach to human learning and development, she has made the writings of Lev Vygotsky relevant to the fields of psychotherapy, education and organizational and community development. She is known internationally for her pioneering work in exploring the human capacity to perform and as the founder and main organizer of the Performing the World conferences. She currently leads the Institute's International Class, a unique training program combining New York City residencies with distance learning for social change innovators from around the world.