ASN Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President:  Scott Rudes, Ph.D., Principal, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Dallas, TX

1st Vice President:  Kyle Wedberg, President and CEO, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), New Orleans, LA

2nd Vice President:  Teren Shaffer, Executive Vice President, Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), Santa Ana, CA

3rd Vice President:  Diane Makas, Artistic Director, Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, Huntington Beach, CA

Treasurer:  Dr. LaShawn Frost, Principal, Booker Middle School, Sarasota, FL

Secretary:  Peter Castillo, Executive Principal, Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy, Denver, CO

Immediate Past President:  William Kohut | Retired Principal | Denver School of the Arts | Denver, CO

DIRECTORS

Allison Ball, Arts Consultant, New York, NY

Jackie Cornelius, Executive Director, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Foundation, Jacksonville, FL

Denise Davis-Cotton, Ed.D., Founder, Detroit School of Arts; Director, Center for PAInT/Academic Affairs, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, Sarasota, FL

Patricia Decker, Director of Recruitment, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY

Edward C. (Ted) Farraday, Vice President, Embassy Education Corporation, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Timothy Farson, Principal, San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, San Diego, CA

D. Bradford Hill, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, AL

Pamela Jordan, President, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA

Laurence D. Kaptain, DMA and FRSA, Dean, College of Arts & Media (CAM), Professor of Music, Entertainment and Industry Studies, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO

Andrew Laue, Associate Director, Fine Arts Admissions, Webster University, St. Louis, MO

John Lawler, Principal, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA

Michael W. Meeks, Ed.D., Executive Director, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, AL

Phil Miller, Artistic Director, The School of Arts and Enterprise, Pomona, CA

Valerie Morris, Dean, School of the Arts, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC

Marly Parker, Arts Integration Specialist/Drama Teacher, Rotella Interdistrict Magnet School, Waterbury, CT

Jason Patera, Head of School, Chicago Academy for the Arts, Chicago, IL

Joseph Price, Department Head Theatre and Dance, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Melinda Zacher Ronayne, Director of Visual Arts, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI

Thomas Schultheis, Teaching Artist & Disney Performing Arts Sales Manager, Long Beach, CA

Dr. Briant Williams, Principal, Rainey-McCullers School of The Arts, Columbus, GA

Dr. Drew Williams, Principal, Tuacahn High School for the Arts, Ivins, UT

Kim Wilson, Director, Arts in Basic Curriculum Project, Rock Hill, SC

Scott Walker, Principal, Las Vegas Academy of Arts, Las Vegas, NV

 BIOS

Allison Ball, Arts Consultant. Trained as a classical pianist and composer in New York and Boston, Allison Ball began her working career as a professional musician and teacher.  With an additional interest in organizational leadership and higher education administration, Allison worked for more than 20 years within performing arts conservatories serving as Dean of Enrollment Services at New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Boston Conservatory, as well Director level positions with the University of Michigan and SUNY Purchase.  With overall responsibility for student recruitment and marketing, curricular program support and advisement, career development and alumni services, financial aid and scholarships, Allison also lead the development of focused programming for international students, campus-wide diversity efforts, and student mentoring programs. Building on a growing interest in technology and music educational delivery systems, Allison joined Andante.com in 2001 serving as an educational consultant and developing partnerships with educational institutions and music program producers across the U.S. and Europe. Following Andante.com, Allison served as the Director of a large, community arts school in New York City that provided performing arts education and performance opportunities for more than 2,800 children and adults.  In 2006, Allison joined the League of American Orchestras as Director of Leadership Training and Recruitment, developing professional development seminars, leadership fellowships, and management training for senior and emerging leaders working for professional and community orchestras. In June 2012, Allison became the Director of Education for the National YoungArts competition which identifies and recognizes outstanding high school achievement in the performing, visual, literary and design arts.  Her work included building relationships across all arts education sectors and building connections with colleges across the U.S. to provide more learning opportunities for YoungArts applicants and alumni. As of February 2018, Allison is an independent arts consultant working with the Florida International University Communication, Arts + Architecture school. Allison earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance and music theory and has additional professional development study in Fundraising and Philanthropy, Leadership, Organizational Development and Strategic Planning. 

Peter Castillo has been Principal of Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy (KCAA) in Denver, CO for ten years, and has watched the school grow from a small K-8 school to a successful K-12 school, rated ‘Green’ by the Denver School District and Colorado state standards. Under Castillo’s leadership, KCAA has been awarded the "New and Emerging School" award and has earned an ‘Exemplary School’ designation from ASN. Previously, Castillo was Assistant Principal at the Denver School of the Arts for four years. He is looking forward to the evolution of arts-based education and continues to work with STEAM-based programs to show the career and technical side of the Creative Arts fields. Over the last twelve years, he has seen what arts-based education can do for students of all backgrounds, and he is excited to take his experience to the ASN board.

Jackie Cornelius, former executive director of fine arts for the Duval County School District serving over 124,000 students in Jacksonville, FL, is the principal of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (DA) and has served as a nationally recognized arts education advocate and presenter for decades. Her charge at DA is to provide intensive arts education to talented, passionate students and implement quality arts professional development for teachers district-wide. Over the years, Cornelius has spearheaded numerous financial campaigns to underwrite critically needed arts funding; one such campaign successfully netted over 13 million in state funding for DA, while another secured a half-million in private funding for the purchase of arts instruments, equipment, and guest artist programs. She recently implemented a pilot collaboration program among the seven district specialized arts schools; last August the district was awarded a federal arts professional development grant of one million.

Cornelius is an active community participant. She is currently a trustee for the Jacksonville Community Music School, a board member of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, and a member of Jacksonville’s Public Arts Commission Board of Directors. She is a Downtown Jacksonville Rotary member and Leadership Jacksonville Alumni, ’92. Cornelius has served on numerous arts and community boards: the Jacksonville Women’s Network, the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women, the Gateway Girl Scout Council, the Mayor’s Insight Committee, the Jacksonville Symphony Education Committee, and Youth Leadership Jacksonville. She is a past president of Uptown Civitans, First Coast Business & Professional Women’s Club, and the Arts Schools Network, and is a past director of the BPW Florida Education Foundation.

Under Cornelius’s leadership, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts has received many national and state awards. It has been named a Grammy Gold Signature School, a Florida Distinguished School, a Best Academic High School by Newsweek, a 2009 U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools in America Gold Medal School, and a 2008 Exemplary School by the Arts Schools Network. DA is a National Essentially Duke Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition winner and its theatre department has performed at the prestigious Edinburgh, Scotland Mini Fringe Arts Festival. Cornelius has been awarded the University of Florida’s Distinguished Principal Award, the Florida Times Union News Eve Award, the Florida Alliance for Arts Education Leadership Award, the Florida Association of Administrators 2008 Arts Administrator of the Year Award, the Florida State Thespians 2009 Administrator of the Year Award for Outstanding Leadership, the Jacksonville Arts Assembly Outstanding Arts Educator Award; the Gateway Girl Scout Council Woman of Distinction Award, the Florida Association of Theatre Educators 2008 Outstanding Administrator of the Year, and the Duval Arts Teachers’ Association Outstanding Principal of the Year Award.

Dr. Denise Davis Cotton, Ed.D., a Milken Foundation internationally recognized educator, Michiganian of the Year, Crain’s Forty under Forty Recipient, and Past President of Arts Schools Network made a historic contribution to the education and the cultural renaissance. She served as the Founder and First Principal of Detroit School of Arts (DSA). She also received two Keys to the City of Montgomery (Alabama), the Congressional Record Recognition by the 106th Congress, is recognized as a Distinguished Alumni - Alabama State University, and the University of South Florida’s First Director of the Florida Center for Partnership for Arts-Integrated Teaching, a Center of Excellence.  She wrote the new school concept and curriculum as the Founder of Detroit School of Arts and served as the school’s First Principal for 18 years, building a 126 million-dollar site on the grounds of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, comprised of state-of-the-art facilities. She is the Chair of the Manatee Elementary Community Partnership Schools in the Manatee County School District. She is also Chairwoman of the Manatee Arts Education Council (MAEC) Board.  She is the lead curriculum writer for the Circus Arts Curriculum for a magnet program at Sarasota High School and Booker Middle School with Circus Arts Conservatory. This curriculum is the only one of its kind in the nation.

From 2008 – 2010, she served as the National President of Arts Schools Network, an international national organization of elementary through university arts school leaders advancing the arts in education and continues to serve on the board.  She also serves on the Board of Governors for Distinctive Schools and The Florida Association of Arts Educators. She is passionate and dedicated to promoting equity and access to arts education.  She hails from Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to promoting achievement through Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.) initiatives. Thus, providing a balanced intellectual sphere that includes divergent thinking and creativity.

Her lifetime commitment for more than 45 years is to arts education and educational equality. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in English and Theater from Alabama State University (B.S), where she was the first Theater major and a Charter member of Alpha Psi Omega Dramatics Fraternity, where she was the leading actress in the university’s dramatics guild. She obtained a master’s degree in Speech Communications from the University of Montevallo, where she was the only African American on the university’s award-winning Forensics team, concentrating on the dramatic interpretation of literary work. She obtained her Education Specialist Certificate and Doctoral Degree in Education Administration and Supervision, with a cognate in Curriculum and Instruction from Wayne State University.

Patricia Decker is the director of recruitment at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She started her career at Tisch in the department of undergraduate drama, first as the internship coordinator, then as the coordinator of the summer high school drama program. After that, she served as the manager of admissions and applicant services for ten years.Decker is also a writer, performer, and producer who has worked in both Philadelphia and New York at venues including the Wilma Theatre, The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Big Mess Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, the Manhattan Theatre Club, Theatre Communications Group, Teleotheater, and SPF. She has performed her own work at Dixon Place, CB’s Gallery, and Cornelia Street Café and is on the board of directors of Rabbit Hole Ensemble. Decker, who is also an accomplished tarot card reader, earned her BA in theatre from Temple University.

Edward C. (Ted) Farraday, Vice President, Embassy Corporation in Vietnam. Previously, Ted joined Interlochen in June 2008 and is responsible for oversight and leadership of Interlochen’s artistic and academic programs, ensuring that Interlochen is at the forefront of arts education nationally and internationally. He supervises nearly 100 faculty and education staff during the Academy's year, and nearly 350 during the Summer Arts Camp. He also works closely with the student affairs office to integrate residence life, health, counseling and parent services into the artistic and academic program.

Prior to coming to Interlochen, Ted spent ten years as director of the Upper School at Miami Country Day School. Previously, he served as academic dean at the Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts and as director of academic affairs at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University with degrees in romance languages and earned a master’s degree in French from New York University.

Ted has traveled extensively and has a strong interest in international education. He received an NEH grant and French government grant for language study in France and Guadaloupe. He has also studied in Spain and Ecuador and did additional graduate study at the Sorbonne in Paris. He has been a leader in the National Association of Independent School’s People of Color initiative, and a champion of diversity issues in all of his positions.

Ted is a lover of all the arts and has a strong background in music with a huge passion for opera, and a particular interest in nineteenth-century piano concerti.

 Timothy Farson is the current Principal at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (SDSCPA), a college preparatory, arts-focused Title I public magnet school for artistically passionate students in grades 6-12 located in Southeastern San Diego.  After studying Philosophy at New York University and Kent State University, Mr. Farson earned an M.A. in Philosophy and teaching credentials in English and Science from San Diego State University. He began his educational career as an English and Science teacher at SDSCPA in 2009. Mr. Farson inspires the SDSCPA community through the hope and promise of a transformational art and academic education.

With his belief that to engage the mind, we must engage the heart, Mr. Farson has empowered the SDSCPA community to elevate academic and art instruction through (1) the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS) comprehensive review process; (2) implementing an innovative arts integrated academic curriculum through the University of California Curriculum Integration (UCCI), where the arts are used as a means to access and lift academic instruction; and (3) calibrating sequential art and academic instruction through Marzano, Warrick, & Simms’ High Reliability Schools: The Next Steps in School Reform.

Mr. Farson has also been integral in shaping the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Strategic Arts Plan for San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), promising equitable access to a high level, arts college preparatory curriculum throughout all SDUSD.  Mr. Farson is excited for the opportunity to join innovative thought partners, leaders, and professionals in discourse through shared beliefs regarding the importance of the arts and education in our society. Mr. Farson is incredibly grateful to the many people who have contributed to his journey as a budding arts leader.

Dr. LaShawn Frost is an experienced and skilled educator.  A born leader, Dr.  Frost is an alumna of the “Art of Leadership” Institute at Harvard University, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a select group of educational leaders across the country.  Named Sarasota County’s 2019 Principal of the Year, her experience in this high-impact training for emerging leaders, helped to foster an appreciation for understanding the complexities of leading in 21^st Century schools.  Dr. Frost is currently representing the Tampa Bay Region in the 2019/2020 Leadership Florida Co-hort.  This is a true expression of the great leaders chosen to impact the State of Florida.

LaShawn Frost is currently the proud Principal of Booker Middle School, a Visual Performing Arts School but spent previous years at Booker Middle School as an assistant principal and Venice High School, in charge of curriculum, master scheduling, Small Learning Communities, professional development and other critical aspects of the learning environment.  Named by Biz941 as one of Sarasota’s 2012 “Women to Follow”, Dr. Frost has been one to follow, as seen in the work that she has done to impact her schools and community.  Dr. Frost spends much of her time working with teachers across the country to assist them in the development of professional growth and development plans to enhance their ability to work with all students. She has served on various district committees and is certified by the Florida Department of Education in School Principal, Educational Leadership and Counseling. 

Dr. Frost is a voice for all students.  She excels in giving students who were less likely to achieve, the opportunity to participate in advance and high school courses.  As a result, she leads the district in accelerated points for the number of middle school students taking and passing the high school EOCs.  LaShawn continues to transform BMS, a Title I middle school, to one of High Expectations for All

Brad Hill is a passionate advocate for immersive arts specialty education, equity of opportunity in schools, and the promotion of critical consciousness at all levels of secondary education. He taught for twelve years at the secondary level and has been an administrator for nine.  He is currently Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, a school which was one of the founding member institutions on the Arts School Network and whose notable alumni include Suzanne Collins, Laverne Cox, India Ramey, and Maria Taylor.  He is currently overseeing program expansion to musical theater curriculum and cinematic arts while also creating a new vision and leadership strategy for the management and artistic direction of the school’s Dorothy Jemison Day Theater. 

Hill is currently doing dissertation research design on the phenomenon of fine and performing arts specialty school curriculum and culture as part of a doctoral program in Educational Studies in Diverse Populations at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His work also examines education and diversity issues within large metropolitan areas, including urban, suburban, and exurban communities.  He hopes to establish a grounded theory of the arts education process in middle and secondary schools.  He has an M.A. in English with a thesis focus on how social movement literature impacted the rise of fine and performing arts secondary schools in America between the 1920s and 1980s, and a B.A. English & Philosophy. In 2016, he was selected as a Summer Fellow in Independent School Leadership at Vanderbilt as well as a Peabody Lecturer on Arts, Language, and Culture.  In 2006 he earned National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Master Teacher Certification and was a recipient of the United States Presidential Scholars Program’s Teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education through National YoungArts Foundation.

Pamela Jordan was appointed President of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation (IAF) in July 2014. Prior to joining IAF, she worked at the Chicago Academy for the Arts (CAA) for twenty-three years, serving as Head of School for thirteen years. Pamela received a Bachelor of Music from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma and a Master of Education from Northeastern Illinois University. She has served on the boards of the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools, and is currently the First Vice President of Arts Schools Network. She has served as a resource panelist to the School of the Arts, Singapore where she also delivered the keynote address for the school’s first bi-annual Arts Forum. Jordan currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Association of Independent Schools.

Laurence D. Kaptain, DMA and FRSA, is Dean, of the College of Arts & Media (CAM), Professor of Music, Entertainment and Industry Studies, University of Colorado Denver. He brings 15 years of higher education leadership experience at leading public and private universities to his position. In his brief time at CU Denver, he has helped establish two centers: one for creative technologies and the other for arts and systemic change. He has also been named to the National Advisory Board of the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), the Board of the Denver School of the Arts Friends Foundation, and is a voting member of The Recording Academy.

Dr. Kaptain served as the Director of Creative Initiatives in the Office of Research and Economic Development and Paula Manship Professor of Music, and prior to that, Dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts and Penniman Family Professor of Music at Louisiana State University from 2009-14. Prior to assuming this post at LSU, he was Dean of Shenandoah Conservatory (near Washington, DC), Director of the heralded Schwob School of Music in Georgia, and Associate Provost for Faculty Programs and Academic Quality at UMKC. At Shenandoah Conservatory he awarded honorary doctorates to famed dancer/choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov, journalist David Pogue, pianist John O’Conor, and Tony Award Nominated Actor, choreographer Murray Lewis and Independent Film Director, Producer, and Writer J. Robert (Bobby) Spencer.

He received the first doctorate in percussion instruments at the University of Michigan, where he was a Fulbright Scholar to Mexico and received the prestigious Rackham Graduate School Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. His other degrees are from the University of Miami and Ball State University.

Laurence Kaptain appears regularly with orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and has recorded with the Chicago Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Czech National Symphony. He has also appeared, collaborated or recorded with artists such as Elvis Costello, Yo-Yo Ma, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Robert Altman, Rudolf Nureyev, Suzanne Farrell and others. His recording of Stravinsky works with New York’s famed Orpheus ensemble won the 2001 Grammy Award for Small Classical Ensemble.

Andrew Laue, Associate Director – Fine Arts Admissions, Webster University, St. Louis, MO, oversees recruitment coordination for the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, which includes marketing outreach, strategic planning, summer programs, and facilitation of the audition and portfolio review process. His college admissions career spans nearly 30 years, and includes work in the areas of accessibility, student persistence, and curriculum offerings.  Andrew is a regular presenter at the local, state, and national level on the topic of best practices in the college search process for students interested in the fine and performing arts. This includes organizations such as The College Board, IECA, NACAC, and various state and regional ACAC affiliates. In addition, he is the City Representative for the NACAC St. Louis Performing and Visual Arts College Fair, held at Webster each fall.

John Lawler, has had a lengthy career in the arts.  He is an award-winning director and writer, with stage, opera, film, and television projects in New York, Los Angeles, London, Munich, and elsewhere.  He was the founder of the award-winning Annex Theatre in Seattle, has been a Guest Artist at Sundance, the Eugene O’Neill Center, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and received two writing awards at the Austin Film Festival. 

Mr. Lawler is the principal and founder of ArTES, recipient of a California Gold Ribbon School award and designated as an Arts Schools Network Exemplary Arts School.  Working with the California Institute of the Arts and the Huntington Library, he co-founded the Arts Consortium, a non-profit organization tasked with facilitating deep partnerships between arts institutions and schools.  In 2016, Mr. Lawler was honored as the Administrator of the Year for Los Angeles Unified School District, and is proud to be named to the Board of the Arts Schools Network.

 Diane Makas has earned a reputation as one of the finest arts administrators in Orange County. Diane was recognized by the Orange County Music and Arts Administrators as Administrator of the Year in 2012 and previously recognized as a Distinguished Arts Administrator by the Allied Arts Board. Diane is now in her 24th  year at the helm of the Academy for the Performing Arts, having built a struggling art school of eighty students into a magnet academy of more than six hundred students. HB APA currently offers majors in Acting, Musical Theatre, Classical Voice, Music Media and Entertainment Arts, Technical Theatre, Costume Design, Playwriting and Directing, Dance, and Orchestral Music. The quality of HB APA’s program can be found in the hundreds of HB APA alumni studying and working professionally around the globe and in the annual awards earned by all departments. Most recently, HB APA was recognized by the Orange County Department of Education for Outstanding Contributions to Education and is designated as an Arts Schools Network Exemplary School. Diane holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Chemistry, a Masters in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University and an Administrative Credential from California State University Long Beach. 

Michael Meeks, Ed.D. is in his fifth year as Executive Director of the Alabama School of Fine Arts. His long-term plans as ASFA’s executive director are still a work in progress, but he is committed to raising the visibility of the state’s magnet school for Fine Arts, Math & Science.  His priorities include improving capacity and increasing financial stability in statewide funding while celebrating the very unique convergence that ASFA offers between arts and sciences.  Citing a growing body of research and general interest in the relationships between the two areas, there are many instances of the arts commenting on science, and sometimes even leading the way.   Meeks’ vision is for ASFA to serve as a focal point in that celebration.

Taking the job at ASFA was a homecoming of sorts for the lifelong musician and educator.  Meeks is a graduate of Samford University and holds both the MA and Ed.D. in music education and educational leadership from The University of Alabama. He taught choral music for grades 7-12 for 12 years in Jefferson County Schools, then served as both high school choral director and K-12 Music/Arts Administrator for Bessemer City Schools. His choirs earned consistent Superior ratings at District and State festivals and received invitations to perform at state, Southern Division and National ACDA and MENC conferences.  Meeks became an associate professor in the University of Montevallo’s Department of Music, Teacher Education Program, from 1990-1999. He also founded Birmingham’s Cahaba Chorale, the University of Montevallo University Chorus, and in 1977-78 he co-founded the Birmingham Boys Choir.  In addition to being active in the State School Board and School Superintendents Associations, he is a member of the Birmingham Metro Diversity Coalition, Birmingham Business Alliance, Birmingham Kiwanis Club, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Volunteer Council, and Asbury United Methodist Church.  He is a 2015 founding member of CLASS (Coalition of Leaders for Advanced Students Success), an affiliate of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Previously, Dr. Meeks served as District Program Administrator for Georgia’s DeKalb County School System for over a decade and was named the state’s Administrator of the Year in 2011. DeKalb County Schools, serving more than 100,000 students across 131 institutions, were named among the Top 100 Communities for Arts Education and Music Education in the country by the U.S. News and World Report and the National Association for Music Merchants (NAMM), due in part to Meeks’ commitment to the arts and academia. In addition, Meeks has extensive non-profit experience, having served on the boards of numerous Georgia arts and education organizations, including the Woodruff Center for the Arts, Spivey Hall Education Board, High Museum and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Education Advisory Committees.

Phil Miller is the first Artistic Director in the history of The School of Arts & Enterprise.He has previously served at The School of Arts and Enterprise (The SAE) as the first Executive Producer in the history of the school, the Director of Theatre (the position he was originally hired for) and the Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair. His commitment to dynamic cross circular arts education, expansive programming, professional marketing, and branding practices and arts accessibility is at the core of his artistic philosophies championed at The SAE.

Miller is an award-winning actor, director, and producer. Most notably he is the former Producing Artistic Director of the Covina Center for the Performing Arts completing the inaugural season and subsequent seasons after a 10 million dollar theatre renovation. He was also the founder of the Young Performer’s Institute and the Founding Artistic Director of the Workman Arts & Entertainment Academy. Miller has been an arts educator and arts advocate for the past 19 years. His diverse work includes classroom instruction, marketing and sales, strategic and staff development, curriculum development, and work as a program consultant throughout Los Angeles County. He regularly teaches Master Classes in musical theatre performance, arts branding and personal marketing for the performer and producing.

His current work at The School of Arts & Enterprise includes overseeing the full restructuring of all school-wide artistic staffing, artistic departments, curriculum, marketing and programming. He is responsible for the awarding of The SAE with the designation by the California Department of Education as an Arts, Media and Entertainment Professional Development Site and along with his staff The SAE being honored as Exemplary Art School by the Arts School Network in the spring of 2019.

Miller is a frequent presenter at national arts conferences, speaking on a range of topics from arts accessibility to audience engagement and fundraising to the role and impact of new media in the arts and educational field today. With his extensive professional work and almost 20 years of experience in the educational setting, one of his strongest assets is his unique ability to align educational institutional strategies to that of the professional arts world.

Miller is a member of the Stage Director’s and Choreographer’s Society and an alumnus of Lincoln Center’s Director’s Lab West. He holds a clear CTE Supervisory Credential in Arts, Media and Entertainment and is a Board Member of the Inland Valley Repertory Theatre. He resides in Glendora, CA with his rockstar wife Griffin, and is father to future movie star/cupcake decorator Molly and future police officer/professional golfer Hudson.

Valerie B. Morris received her M.A. in Speech (Theatre Administration emphasis) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her B.A. in Speech Arts from American University. She has been the Dean of the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts since the fall of 1998. As the Dean, she oversees the Departments of Art History, Music, Studio Art, and Theatre (which houses the minor in Dance) and programs in Arts Management plus Historic Preservation and Community Planning. Prior to joining the College of Charleston, Dean Morris was the Chair of the Department of Performing Arts at American University in Washington, D.C., where she was the founding director of that institution’s Arts Management Program. Dean Morris is involved in several national, statewide and local organizations. She is a former board member of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans and the Rotary Club of Charleston, and she is a mentor for the Association of Theatre in Higher Education’s Leadership Institute. Dean Morris is a member of the Steering Committee for South Carolina’s Arts in Basic Curriculum program, serves on the board of the South Carolina Arts Alliance, and is the immediate past president of the South Carolina Alliance for Arts Education. She is a board member of the Charleston Concert Association, the Charleston Jazz Initiative, the Free Enterprise Foundation, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. 

Marly Parker has been teaching at the elementary level for 24 years. The first 15 years she was an intermediate level classroom teacher. For the past 9 years, she has been a drama teacher and arts integration specialist at her magnet school in Waterbury, CT. Marly is an arts in education enthusiast and believes strongly in the power of the arts. She guides her staff in creating arts integration lessons and gives professional development. Teaching drama as an art form to Pre-K to grade 5 students is her passion. Over the 8 years that she has been a member, Marly has served on numerous Arts Schools Network committees. Her school was an ASN Exemplary School twice and has won the ASN Arts Integration award. She is excited and honored to join the ASN Board of Directors.

Jason Patera has been part of the Chicago Academy for the Arts community since 1992, from being something of a teenage “intern” to later serving as a faculty member, Chair of the Music Department, Assistant Head of School, Principal, and Head of School.

A jazz pianist and drummer, Patera is a summa cum laude graduate of Berklee College of Music, where he studied arranging and contemporary writing and founded the college’s newspaper The Groove. Patera also holds a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for excellence in teaching, and was named a Golden Apple Leader of Distinction in 2018.

Patera is the author of  “I Can Do Hard Things, or: How Much It Hurt to Run 100.6 Miles” for Chicago Athlete Magazine. Inspired by Academy students, his TED talk “Life at the Intersection of Excellence, Purpose, and Passion” describes the power of rejecting mediocrity, defying our limits, dreaming audaciously, and loving the journey.

Scott Rudes, Ph.D., is currently the principal of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX.  BTWHSPVA has been ranked one of the top eight magnet schools in the country and has a record 23 US Presidential Scholars in the Arts since its inception in 1976.  As one of the top arts high schools in the country, students are well prepared for the top universities and conservatories throughout the world.  Some of the notable alumni from BTW include Nora Jones, Erikah Badu, Roy Hargrove, and Edie Brickell.  Rudes also serves as a board member of Arts Schools Network, an organization which supports specialized arts programs, educators, and leaders.

Prior to his appointment at BTWHSPVA, Dr. Rudes served as the principal at Orange Grove Middle Magnet School of the Arts in Tampa, Florida.  During his tenure, Orange Grove was recognized by the state of Florida as an Arts Achieve! Model School, and received the Exemplary Schools designation from the Arts Schools Network.  Dr. Rudes was also recognized by the Florida Alliance for Arts Education (FAAE) as the Arts Administrator of the Year for 2012 and received the Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader Award from the Arts Schools Network as well.  In 2013, he was recognized by the Broadway Educator League with the League Educator Apple Award, which acknowledged his work in bringing together arts organizations in the Tampa area to improve arts education experiences in the K-12 spectrum.  Rudes has served as the President of the Florida Orchestra Association (FOA) as well as President of the Florida Network of Arts Administrators (FNAA).

Melinda Zacher Ronayne is the Director of Visual Arts at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Ronayne joined Interlochen in August 2010 and leads all aspects of visual arts education at the Interlochen Arts Academy and Camp, including the management of a 1,500 sq. ft. professional gallery and visiting artist program. Over the years, Ronayne has overseen the redesign of the visual arts curriculum and assessment system; the creation of a service learning in the arts program, including a partnership with the Munson Medical Center, and several large collaborative projects with other arts and academic divisions. Ronayne has developed and implemented several new visual arts Camp majors including High School Experimental Fashion, Intermediate-Advanced Drawing and Painting, the Junior Visual Arts Major for ages 8 – 13, and two week-long Institutes in Precious Metals and Experimental Drawing and Painting.

Ronayne has been named a Distinguished Teacher for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Over the last ten years, her students have consistently been Finalist recipients in the National YoungArts competition, Gold Medal recipients in the National Scholastics Art and Writing Awards and she has taught two Presidential Scholars in the Arts and seven Presidential Nominees.

Prior to coming to Interlochen, Ronayne taught AP 2D and AP Drawing at the Design and Architecture Senior High School in Miami. While at DASH, she served in a program that brought high-level arts instruction to inner-city youth at the Miami Edison Senior High School in Little Haiti. Ronayne has worked as an admission counselor and the coordinator of scholarship programs at the Maryland Institute College of Art and has taught International Baccalaureate Studio Art at Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach, FL.

She is a regular presenter at the state and national level on the topics of arts and health, service learning in the arts, collaboration and portfolio development. This includes conferences for the Arts Schools Network, the National Art Education Association, the Michigan Art Education Association, and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Leading Ethical Improvement in Healthcare Symposium at the McCombs School of Business in Austin TX. Ronayne is actively involved in her local community as well where she serves on the Board of Trustees for the Great Lakes Children’s Museum and volunteers at the Cowell Family Cancer Center.

Ronayne is an interdisciplinary visual artist. She received her MA in Arts Education and BFA in general fine arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Ronayne lives in Traverse City, MI with her husband Justin and two daughters, Quinn and Sadie.

Thomas Schultheis creates learning environments that bring people together, encouraging connection and reflection, while celebrating individual uniqueness. He has served as a teaching artist for numerous academies, competitions, festivals, intensives, invitationals, and showcases.

Additionally, Thomas has created the Inspiration Workshop, Let Me Try That Again, and the Musical Theatre Exploration Clinic. He received his Master of Arts in Strategic Communication from National University and his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from James Madison University.

Thomas has worked for The Walt Disney Company for 15 years and is currently the Sales Manager for Disney Performing Arts at the Disneyland® Resort.

Before starting his career at Disney Thomas performed on Broadway in the revival of Grease! as well as tours of Grease!, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Chicago, and South Pacific. He has worked as a choreographer for over 20 years, his credits include off-Broadway productions of original work with the cast of the Broadway’s [title of show], and productions for over a dozen high schools & colleges.

Thomas is a member of the Concordia University, Irvine’s School of Education Advisory Council, and is a part of the Actors Equity Association, California Educational Theatre Association, Educational Theatre Association, and the Teaching Artist Support Collaborative of California.

As foster parents, he and his spouse were recognized as Outstanding ISFC Resource Parents for the County of Los Angeles as well as honored by Raise a Child Organization’s Let Love Define Family Award.

Teren Shaffer is a highly lauded arts manager, music educator, and conductor, winning prestigious awards, such as The Kennedy Center’s Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award and Arts Schools Network Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader Award, Stanford University's Exceptional Teaching Award, and Orange County Department of Education’s Outstanding Arts Educator.

He currently serves as Executive Vice President of the Orange County School of the Arts Foundation, overseeing a team of development, marketing, public relations, special events, and graphic design personnel. Shaffer is also involved in strategic management of OCSA’s arts conservatory programs, CSArts Academy summer, weekend, and adult classes, and special projects. Launched in OCSA’s 30^th anniversary season, Shaffer assists in facilitating a Master Artist Series of collaborative performances, masterclasses, and residencies with internationally-acclaimed artists, such as: Wynton Marsalis, Deborah Voigt, Joshua Bell, Lythgoe Family Productions, Ali Stroker, and Matthew Morrison.

Prior to his appointment as Executive Vice President, Shaffer served as OCSA’s Dean of Arts and Music Director of the internationally-acclaimed Frederick Fennell Wind Ensemble. Shaffer led the ensemble to become a finalist in The American Prize for Wind Ensemble Performance and to present a concert at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival. In 2014, the ensemble was the first band from Southern California to perform at the Midwest Clinic. This is the largest annual music conference of its kind, hosting nearly 20,000 educators and performers from more than 30 countries.

Shaffer serves on the national board of directors for Arts Schools Network, and he held the role of General Manager for the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra for 10 years. Shaffer earned a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and bachelor’s degrees in instrumental conducting, bassoon performance, and music education from Chapman University’s Conservatory of Music.

Kyle Wedberg has a professional career that has focused on education and public service.  His career began as a City Year AmeriCorps volunteer in Boston, MA. After graduate school, he was a Senior Budget Analyst for the Office of Budget and Management for the City of Chicago. He was then recruited to the School District of Philadelphia where he served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Kyle then returned to City Year to help lead new site development and the start of City Year Louisiana (where he fell in love with New Orleans), City Year Johannesburg, and City Year Los Angeles. Kyle embraced the opportunity to move to New Orleans and took a leadership role in the Recovery School District where he served as Chief Administrative Officer. While working at the RSD, Kyle visited and was inspired by NOCCA-the performing and visual arts high school for the State of Louisiana- where he now has the privilege to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer. In his spare time he enjoys being with his wife Michelle and son Waylon above all else; traveling the state; and experiencing the arts, sights, sounds, food, culture, and sports (especially the Saints) of New Orleans and Louisiana. Kyle has had the privilege to perform artistically as Heck Tate in the NOCCA Stage Company production of To Kill a Mockingbird and as the Narrator for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s production of Peter and the Wolf. He has a BA from St. Olaf College and an MPA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

Dr. Briant Williams is an educator with over a decade of teaching and administrative experience. As a teacher, Dr. Williams served in the Savannah Chatham County School System, Memphis City Schools, DeKalb County School System and the Atlanta Public School System. Dr. Williams has also taught courses (as a graduate assistant) in the Center for Black Studies at Northern Illinois University. As an administrator, Dr. Williams served as the assistant principal for curriculum at Creekside High School in the Fulton County School System, the principal at Broad Ripple Magnet High School for the Arts and Humanities in Indianapolis, Indiana and is now serving as the founding principal at the Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts in Columbus, Georgia.           

A native Georgian, Dr. Williams is new to Columbus by way of Atlanta, Georgia. His original hometown is Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Williams is a graduate of Florida A&M University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education and holds the Master of Music Degree in Music Education from Northern Illinois University, an Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Administration from Columbus State University and the Doctor of Education Degree in Educational Administration from Georgia Southern University.         

Dr. Williams is a spring 2002 dully initiated member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Dr. Williams’ enjoys politics, reading, traveling, learning, music, shopping, spending time with friends and family; and seeking avenues to make the greatest possible impact and to live life to the fullest. Two of his favorite quotes are: “Make your life a choice, not a chance” made by his father Dr. Weldon Williams, Jr. and “We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This, is the inter-related structure of reality” by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

 

Drew Williams, Ed.D. currently serves as Principal at Tuacahn High School for the Arts. He earned his Masters in Educational Leadership and his Doctorate of Education in Strategic Planning and Organizational Theory. Having performed for three decades as a professional touring and studio musician, as well as serving as a dedicated educator and administrator, Drew found the perfect fit in an arts-focused school. Always an advocate for arts education, Drew’s interest in Tuacahn was the perfect way to blend his educational passion with an environment to advance students' abilities and excel creatively. Drew began his journey as a woodshop teacher, and when he and his wife (also a talented musician and songwriter) decided to move to Nashville, TN., they both continued to play music and work in education. Throughout their years in Nashville, they toured with groups nationally and internationally, released three studio EP’s and, most importantly, had three beautiful children: Emmy, Holland, and Beckham. Drew is thrilled to be part of ASN, continuing his passion for arts education and the impact it has on

Kim Wilson is the Director of Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) Project, a statewide partnership between South Carolina (SC) Department of Education, SC Arts Commission, and Winthrop University. She has twenty-five years of experience in arts education and administration. ABC Project's mission is to provide leadership to achieve quality, comprehensive arts education for all SC students. Her teaching and administrative experiences began in community education, which included such roles as Director of Education at Pewabic Pottery, a historic Arts and Crafts era production pottery, in Detroit, MI, and Executive Director for Sawtooth School for Visual Arts in Winston-Salem, NC. Over the last twelve years, Kim has focused on public arts education. After only teaching four years in public education, Kim was recognized as the 2012 Arkansas Teacher of the Year. Since that time, she has transitioned into empowering all educators with creativity-fostering teaching practices and advocating on the power and influence of arts education for student development.