Education

  • M.F.A. Performance Arts, California State University, Fullerton; Fullerton, California.

  • B.A. Performance Arts, Central Washington University; Ellensburg, Washington.

Administrative Experience

2019- Current

Deputy Director

Performing Arts Center Eastside, Bellevue, Washington

  • Initiated, created, and authored the culminating report to a SWOT survey which fed our Strategic Planning Process

  • Led PACE Staff and Board through a Real Time Strategic Planning (RTSP) Process, the company’s first strategic plan in its 18-year existence. This included identifying a 7 sequenced stage initiative which focused efforts and investments of moving the company forward to groundbreaking. From this, I introduced PACE to logic models, creating one for each of the 7 stages that were tied to one of the Focus Areas in our RTSP.

  • Developed a Rapid Planning Project which fed a Gantt chart of activities to get us through to groundbreaking and stabilized operations. This was also tied to a 15-year financial proforma that I helped create.

  • Serve as a Program Manager for the Eastside Culture Coalition, bringing in guest presenters and helping to create the agenda for each meeting which takes place twice a month. As part of the ECC, I likewise served on a Covid Impact Task Force in which I initiated, created, and authored a culminating report to an Eastside Arts focused Covid Impact Survey in December 2020

  • In Conjunction with an Arts Education Committee, I developed and wrote PACE’s first ever Education Vision and launched all education initiatives within the organization including the formation and leadership of the Regional Arts Education Directors Forum

  • Conceptualized and launched PACE’s Arts Without Barriers Program, a public performance program aimed at eliminating access barriers to the arts for Eastside Residents.  To date this program has served over 200,000 audience members and employed more than 150 artists since its inception in April 2021.

  • Conceptualized and launched PACE’s Brain Break and TECHtober programs.

  • Received the City of Bellevue’s Bellwether Arts and Tech Festival Contract: a 2-year producing contract set to take place in September 2023 and 2024

  • In conjunction with the Community Engagement Committee Chair and PACE’s Interim Executive Director, I developed and launched the first Wisdom Table Series, a community forum aimed at collecting input on how PACE can better serve them through future programming.

  • Led all marketing and communication initiatives including all social media, monthly Onward! online publication, a quarterly newsletter (both print and mailchimp), holiday card and program specific collateral.

  • Created 3 promotional videos featured outside PACE’s Discovery Center

2015-2019          

Director of Education

Book-It Repertory Theatre, Seattle, Washington

  • In conjunction with the Artistic Directors and General Manager, I developed a vision for Book- It’s education programs which fulfills the Theatre’s overarching vision and mission. This included securing grants for the expansion of our educational programming as well as increasing its touring size

  • Create and monitor budgets for all education and outreach related revenues and expenses, including tuition, salaries, facilities, and supplies, so that budgeted net income targets were met or exceeded.

  • Serve as a member of the Department Head Team, guiding and monitoring the plans and goals of the organization, to ensure strategic growth for the Theatre and that the Education Department was included in and informed about organizational issues that affected the department.

  • Provide feedback, grant narratives, and budget narratives to the Managing Director and Director of Development for grant proposals and participation in fundraising solicitations and reports related to the Education Department.

  • Curated Book-Its arts and education touring productions annually, a program that serves more than 55,000 students throughout WA state. This includes choosing show titles, hiring, monitoring, and giving artistic direction to creative teams, and very often serving as an adapter and director for at least 1 of the shows; providing artistic mentorship to guest directors, stage managers, designers and actors who were new to the Book-It style.

  • Develop and implement a Literacy Project which integrated theatre with classroom reading instruction to eliminate arts and literacy opportunity gaps. This project launched in the summer of 2016 with Bellevue School District and grew to include Renton and Seattle School Districts in the summer of 2017, serving over 1,000 students over a period of 1 month.

  • Develop, monitor, and evaluate the curricula for a diverse portfolio of Book-It’s educational programs to ensure that participants received a quality experience and that such programs fulfilled the Theatre’s mission. These programs include Student Matinee, Bringing Theatre into the Classroom Summer Program (in collaboration with Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre and Pacific Northwest Ballet), in-school residencies, Touring Series and subsequent workshops.

  • Coordinate with the Director of Marketing and Communications on the creation, scheduling, and distribution plans for all marketing materials related to all education programs to ensure awareness of the programs and satisfaction of registration targets in a cost-efficient manner.

2004-2014      

Director of Education

Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut

In addition to many of the responsibilities listed above, I also:

  • Student Matinee Series: Supervised all program implementation, including but not limited to the creation of all printed and online material, Video Study Guides (3 per season), and Teacher Information Packets. Facilitated all student group sales and contracting, maintained relationships with schoolteachers and administration, created seating charts, organized day of ushering, and facilitated post show talkbacks with actors.

  • Shake-it-Up Shakespeare Summer Program: Conceptualized and started the program which ran successfully for 5 summers. Collaborated with Director of Production and department tech heads surrounding the shows which I adapted, directed, and choreographed. Collaborated with Musical Director on song adaptation and theme. Typically worked with a cast size of twenty-five 14–21-year-olds during a 3-week rehearsal process and a 4-show run.

  • Elder Play Project: Conceptualized and started the program in collaboration with Tower One/Tower East in New Haven. Collaborated with Director of Development to submit a grant proposal which we were awarded from the NEA on Creativity in Aging.  This program has run consecutively and was featured in a TCG Audience Revolution Article.

  • Long Wharf Studio School: Taught all adult acting classes and master class series, as well as monitored the summer camp programs offered in creative drama.

  • Educators’ Lab: Helped conceptualize and was the lead administrator of the program since its inception in 2006, sometimes teaching workshops. Made it a recognized professional development provider by the CT state Department of Education.

  • NCTF PSA Theatre Education Award: As a theatre member of the National Corporate Theatre Fund, Long Wharf Theatre was eligible to create and submit a PSA in a contest that asked the question: how does theatre help prepare students for the 21st century work force? I conceptualized and created the PSA which won and continues to run in taxi cabs in New York and Chicago.