Biography
My career reflects my varied interests and talents: I am an arts education leader, performing artist, and writer. Read on to learn more about my current projects, professional activities, and education.
Arts Education Leader I am a passionate arts education leader with a demonstrated commitment to equity and accessibility. My broad experience as a leader, educator, scholar, and entrepreneur includes work in community education, PK-12 education, and higher education. I incorporate Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in my teaching and explore a diverse range of music traditions. I am the Director of Visual and Performing Arts at The Blake School. I work with PK-12 arts faculty and administer the programming in the visual arts, music, theatre, and debate. Prior to my time at The Blake School, I taught courses in music and culture, voice lessons, and an introductory course at the University of St. Thomas (UST). My community arts and leadership experiences include past tenures on the University of St. Thomas Charter Accountability Board and the board of the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. I currently serve as Board Chair of Journey North Opera Company. Performing Artist I am a classically trained soprano who continues to perform as well as teach. In April and May 2023, I sang the role of African American contralto Marian Anderson in Theatre Elision's production of "First Ladies Suite" (LaChiusa). Audiences and critics loved the show! This past summer, I sang arias with Bloomington Symphony Orchestra and conductor, Manny Laureano and performed in Journey North Opera Company's third-annual Changing the Narrative event. Writer Writing is a natural extension of my teaching, lecturing, and curriculum writing on music and pedagogy. My first published writing came out in October 2023. I contributed a chapter in the book, “Engaging Pedagogies for Diverse Learners" published by Rowman & Littlefield Education. The chapter explores a college-level music curriculum I wrote, which guides students through a storytelling and songwriting project for social change. I am currently working on a new Reggaetón Project. Education I graduated with honors from the University of St. Thomas, Department of Educational Leadership, earning an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Learning. My dissertation, entitled "Mixed People, Mixed Music: Hybrid Contemporary Commercial Music Genres and the Multiethnic Artists Who Create Them," studied the experiences and contributions of multiethnic artists working in the contemporary commercial music industry. Click here to read the dissertation abstract. I hold an M.Mus., Vocal Performance, from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins, and a B.A. in Italian Studies (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Minnesota. To learn more about my professional work, or to contact me, please click the buttons below. |
Image: SCAD Hong Kong classroom.JPG. (2020, October 31). Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Retrieved 05:51, July 22, 2022 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SCAD_Hong_Kong_classroom.JPG&oldid=508239474.
Image: Libri books2.jpg. (2022, May 29). Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Retrieved 03:56, July 31, 2022 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Libri_books2.jpg&oldid=659658064.
Image: Libri books2.jpg. (2022, May 29). Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Retrieved 03:56, July 31, 2022 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Libri_books2.jpg&oldid=659658064.
