Last Thursday, May 26, 2011, Fractured Atlas lost a dear friend when Marylyn Rosenblum passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends.

Marylyn served on Fractured Atlas’s Board of Directors from 2000 to 2009, when she transitioned to the role of Director Emeritus. Throughout her tenure we were the frequent and fortunate beneficiaries of Marylyn’s wisdom and experience in matters related to technology, marketing, education, the arts, and more. In hindsight, however, I believe her greatest contribution to Fractured Atlas stemmed from her courage and conviction during the organization’s darkest hour. By way of explanation, I’d like to share one memory of Marylyn Rosenblum that will always resonate powerfully with me.

Fractured Atlas began its life as a performing arts producer in downtown New York in 1998. When Marylyn joined the Board two years later, she was signing on to support a nascent producer of theatre, dance, music, and performance art. We had a lot of fun and put on some great shows, but no one would have mistaken us for a sustainable business.

Still, we stretched our shoestring budgets as far as possible and survived long enough to launch our biggest, most expensive production to date in a far-downtown theater on Friday, September 7, 2001. Everyone knows what happened the following Tuesday. We were fortunate that no one directly involved in our work was killed or injured; nonetheless, the financial consequences were devastating. By the close of our 5-week run, Fractured Atlas found itself with no cash in the bank and $60,000 in credit card debt. Given that our annual budget back then was roughly $50,000, this was an existential threat.

We quickly rallied the Board for an emergency meeting. Of the twelve of us, ten believed that it was time to close up shop and work out a plan to pay off that debt. It was inconceivable that Fractured Atlas could dig its way out, and the near-consensus was that even trying to do so risked making the situation worse. The two holdouts were Marylyn Rosenblum and me. I had a half-baked idea that Fractured Atlas could be reinvented as a national service organization - that our experience working in the arts-industry trenches gave us a unique perspective on the challenges faced by emerging artists and organizations.

Marylyn, to her everlasting credit, was the only one to stand by my side. She had the imagination and foresight to grasp the potential buried in my then-fuzzy vision. More importantly, she had the strength of character to stand by my side as we battled our way through a brutal 8-hour debate. By the end, Marylyn and I had persuaded the Board to at least give it a shot, and the motion to kill Fractured Atlas was tabled. Looking back, I’m certain that I couldn’t have done it without her support.

I will always remember that Fractured Atlas partly owes its existence to Marylyn Rosenblum. I hope you’ll remember that, too; I suspect we could all learn from her example.

Following is the official obituary:

Marylyn Rosenblum, educational technology innovator

Marylyn Rosenblum, of Katonah, New York, and Bayside, Maine, age 65, died at Northern Westchester Hospital early Thursday morning, May 26th.

Born Marylyn Berkowitz to Leon and Raynor Berkowitz on January 18, 1946, she was raised in the Bronx and in Tenafly, New Jersey. She attended Boston University and Bard College before moving to New York City, where she worked in publishing. Marylyn spent three decades as an executive and consultant in educational technology. She was a pioneer in educational software, electronic information resources and early Internet content at CBS, Trintex (Prodigy), Grolier, Broderbund and others. She mentored many female executives in her field. After many years away, she returned to school and completed her Bachelor of Science at SUNY Empire State College in 2003.

In 1969 she married Harry A. Rosenblum Jr. in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. The couple moved to Katonah in 1972 and raised their sons, Harry and Aaron, there and in Petaluma, California. She spent summers at the family cottage in Maine reading, knitting, picking blueberries, baking and canning.

An avid knitter, she helped found the Taconic Knitting Program, which teaches incarcerated women to knit for themselves, their communities and their loved ones.

She is survived by her husband and sons, siblings Stan Berkowitz and Barbara Kleyman; daughter-in-law Taylor Erkkinen and granddaughter Moxie. She was predeceased by her sister Joan Berkowitz.

A memorial service will be held at the covered shelter in Katonah Memorial Park on Saturday, June 4, at 11:00 a.m.

Donations to the Taconic Knitting Program can be made to the Westchester Knitting Guild, c/o Dorothy Freeman, 43 Morningside Drive, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 10520.