Reimagining Possibility: Rachel Fine on Reinvention, the Arts, and Building Community

Season 4 of Yale College Voices opens with an inspiring conversation between host Darice Corey and Rachel Fine, Executive Director of the Yale Schwarzman Center. Rachel’s journey began at the piano, where years of disciplined practice instilled resilience and creativity. When a hand injury forced her to step away from a performance career, she found new purpose in arts leadership — a pivot that led her to transformative roles with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Rachel reflects on early lessons in discipline at the piano, the difficult pivot away from performance after an injury, and how those experiences shaped her approach to leadership. She shares stories of steering arts organizations through challenges like the pandemic, building inclusive community partnerships in New Haven, and reimagining the Schwarzman Center as a space where students, faculty, staff, and community members come together.

She also takes listeners inside the Schwarzman Center itself, describing how the historic Commons dining hall has been reimagined as a hub for food, performance, and community, and how spaces like the Dome serve as incubators for new art and cross-disciplinary collaboration. With thousands of visitors passing through each day, the Center has quickly become a singular destination on campus and a bridge to the wider New Haven community.

Whether you’re passionate about the arts, curious about leadership, or inspired by the resilience it takes to reinvent yourself, Rachel’s story offers powerful lessons in creativity, collaboration, and leading with optimism.

Podcast Host: Darice Corey | Senior Director of Web and IT Planning | Yale College Dean’s Office
Staff Engagement Committee Co-Chair | Pierson College Fellow
Podcast Guest: Rachel Fine | Executive Director, Schwarzman Center
Video/Podcast Producer: Ryan McEvoy | Yale Broadcast Studio