As director of the Arts Education Partnership, Jamie works with over 200 partner organizations to support arts learning across the United States. Prior to joining Education Commission of the States, Jamie worked for Arts Education Collaborative in Pittsburgh and was previously the state arts curriculum advisor at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Jamie is also an active musician who spends time on the weekends rehearsing or performing with various groups. 

Nicole Upton is Executive Director of Ingenuity, Chicago's leading arts education organization dedicated to ensuring every student in every Chicago Public School has access to a high-quality arts education. She leads the organization's work in data and research, partnerships and professional learning, advocacy, and strategic grantmaking, helping shape policy and strengthen equitable access to the arts across the district. 

Nicole joined Ingenuity in 2015 and became Executive Director in 2022 after serving as Director of Partnerships and Learning and Managing Director. With more than 20 years of experience in arts education, she has served as a teaching artist, high school theatre teacher, Chicago Public Schools administrator, and Senior Director of Education at the Auditorium Theatre. She helped develop CPS's first districtwide Arts Education Plan and continues to work with educators, civic leaders, and philanthropic partners to advance arts education policy and practice. 

Nicole holds a BA in Comprehensive Theatre Studies from Northern Illinois University and an MA in Educational Theatre from New York University.

Wendy Liscow is Executive Director of Arts Ed NJ, where she leads statewide efforts to advance equitable access to high-quality arts education through policy, research, professional learning, and collective impact initiatives. Throughout her career, she has championed systems change by bringing together educators, arts organizations, policymakers, and community leaders to strengthen arts education for all students. 

Prior to joining Arts Ed NJ, Wendy spent 17 years at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, where she led the Education portfolio and developed capacity-building initiatives for the nonprofit sector. Earlier in her career, she worked for 25 years in professional theatre as an administrator, producer, dramaturg, and director. Wendy currently serves on several Arts Education Partnership committees and national arts education leadership groups and is a proud recipient of New Jersey's Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement in Arts Education. 

Nafeesah Symonette is a visual artist, educator, public speaker and passionate advocate for equitable youth arts access, ensuring exposure while honoring cultural heritage. Her artistic journey began over 30 years ago in Detroit under the mentorship of Mrs. Joyce Ivory, founder of Young Artists & Co., Inc. 

A former K-12 certified arts educator, Symonette dedicated 13 years to teaching high school visual arts in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Her excellence in arts education was recognized in 2011 when D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray awarded her the Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Art Secondary Teaching. She holds a Master of Arts in Arts Administration & Management from Eastern Michigan University and serves as an ambassador for the programs. Symonette is the former Art School Manager at Paint Creek Center for the Arts (PCCA), where she contributed to the renowned Art & Apples Festival, one of Michigan’s top fine arts festivals while co-chairing the Anton Art Center’s I.D.E.A. Advisory Council. As an Adjunct Professor and University Supervisor at Oakland University, she prepared the next generation of arts educators through the lens of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. 

She continues to play a pivotal role in arts education advocacy and policy, including her appointment by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Arts and Cultural Council, where she serves as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Arts Education Committee. Additionally, serving on the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) National Advisory Board, advocating for transformative arts education policies nationwide. 

Alongside her husband, Nicholas Symonette, Jr., she is Co-Founder and Principal Consultant at Symonette Consulting Group, where she works on projects with Mi-Creative Potential, Michigan Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Project (MAEIA) and the National Art Education Association (NAEA). 

In 2021, Symonette co-founded Detroit Excellence in Youth Arts (DEYA) with Rick Sperling, founder emeritus of Mosaic Youth Theatre Detroit, in collaboration with The Children’s Foundation and Connect Detroit. As DEYA’s Executive Director, she leads systemic change efforts to create equitable, access to high-impact arts experiences for Detroit youth. 

Erika Hawthorne (she/her) is a nonprofit leader with over a decade of experience advancing equity-centered initiatives across the arts, philanthropy, education, and public sectors. As Executive Director of the Arts Administrators of Color Network (AAC), she leads national programs, partnerships, and strategy that strengthen community, develop leadership, and expand resources and visibility for arts administrators and cultural workers of the global majority, collectively reaching more than 15,000 arts leaders nationwide.

Her experience spans grantmaking, public funding, national network engagement, and organizational strategy, including roles with the Bainum Family Foundation, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Leading Changemakers, and the Arts Education Partnership, where she supported a national network of more than 140 organizations. She also served as Director of Membership and Communications for Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, leading national engagement strategy for a community of thousands of philanthropic leaders.

A founding leader of AAC, Erika has contributed to the organization since its inception as a participant, volunteer, board member, and now Executive Director, bringing deep institutional knowledge and a long-standing commitment to building infrastructure that connects and sustains artists and arts administrators of the global majority nationwide.

Grounded in early arts training and community-based arts education, Erika’s formative experiences shaped both her belief in the power of the arts and her commitment to expanding access and creative opportunity. She studied Communication and Culture at Howard University and holds a master’s degree in Arts Management and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from American University.

Ashlee Lewis serves as the Assistant Director of the REM Center. Her work spans a variety of areas, focusing primarily on program evaluation, classroom assessment, and applied research. Her program evaluation work is often mixed methods with an emphasis on utilization-focused evaluation methods and qualitative methodologies. She has examined arts education programs across the Southeast through evaluation and research work with the South Carolina Arts Commission and the ABC Institute at Winthrop University. Dr. Lewis also serves as the director of the South Carolina Arts Assessment Program. Much of her program evaluation work has centered on teacher professional development and efforts to retain teachers in the classroom, including evaluations of the Carolina Teacher Induction Program and Carolina CrED. She current leads evaluations of Arts Grow SC, the Community Assistance for Rural Arts Education (CARE) Project, the Carolina Teacher Induction Program, CarolinaCrED, ArtsNOW, and MUSC’s Teen Science Ambassador Program; she also serves on the evaluation team for the Carolina Family Engagement Center. 

Kelly Bisogno is the Coordinator of Fine Arts at the Virginia Department of Education. She has taught art to children, teens, and adults for over 20 years. She holds BFA degrees in Sculpture and Art Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a masters in Educational Technology and Education Leadership. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Virginia Art Education Association and Virginia Art Educator of the Year in 2024. Kelly serves on several state and national arts education organizations and is the co-chair of the Arts Education Partnership’s Data Working Group.

Hillary Crawford is an arts and nonprofit executive with more than 20 years of experience in grants management, program development, and cultural leadership. As Interim Vice President of Programs at South Arts, she provides strategic oversight for regional grantmaking and initiatives that support artists, arts organizations, and communities across the South. Throughout her career, she has championed equitable access to arts funding, developed innovative grant programs, and strengthened the capacity of cultural organizations through leadership roles at South Arts, the Florida Division of Arts & Culture, and the Council on Culture & Arts in Tallahassee, Florida.

Dr. Kimako Patterson is the Chief of Staff of the Illinois State Board of Education. Previously she served as a principal and Superintendent of the Prairie Hills District 144 in Markham, Illinois. Dr. Patterson is a committed voice to educational change in the State of Illinois holding numerous statewide positions. 

Courtney is the Sr. Manager of Client Success at Parliament, partnering with arts education collective impact organizations nationally on technology implementation and data strategies that advance access to the arts for K–12 students in their regions. Previously, she was Director of Programs at Ingenuity, working to expand equitable arts education in Chicago Public Schools.

Ada Shido is an after-school program director at LEAP NYC and a former Youth Commissioner for the San Diego County Arts and Culture Commission. With experience spanning state-level youth initiatives and nonprofit arts programming serving 3,200+ youth, she brings an equity-centered, community-driven approach to creative youth development.

Sarah Campbell holds a M.S. in Teaching in visual art from Rochester Institute of Technology and a B.A. in English and visual art from Transylvania University. For more than 15 years, she has worked in various nonprofits and volunteer capacities to empower individuals and communities through the arts. At PRI, Campbell works with rural partners to build capacity for arts education programming.

Natalie Gabbard grew up in rural Appalachia and serves as the project director for arts and humanities with Partners for Rural Impact. For more than a decade, Gabbard has led PRI’s efforts to create partnerships and increase opportunities for arts education in rural places. Gabbard has managed several initiatives supported by the NEA and is a member of the AEP Advisory Council.

Max Altman is the Director of Research and Policy at the Southern Education Foundation, where he oversees SEF’s research agenda and manages a number of its justice-focused partnerships and networks. He previously served as the technical assistance lead for the Pacific Regional Educational Laboratory at McREL International in Honolulu, where he designed and facilitated ongoing support projects to meet the needs of educators in Pacific jurisdictions. A former high school math teacher, Max has also served as a professional developer and curriculum writer, as well as an instructor in teacher education and mathematics courses at the University of Michigan.

Rebecca Yeager is the Executive Director of the Alabama Arts Alliance. She began her career as an actor, director, educator, and movement specialist with focuses in early childhood and collegiate education. Through her work at professional and community theatres, public, private, and community colleges, and numerous high schools, elementary schools, and private studios, Rebecca has worked to make quality early childhood and collegiate education accessible to students of all socio-economic backgrounds. She is delighted to now advocate for students statewide to receive sequential arts education in Alabama public schools, to empower educators of all subjects to integrate the arts into their classrooms, and to highlight the work of artists and advocate for their needs. Rebecca received a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi. She graduated Cum Laude from Birmingham-Southern College with a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre, where she had the honor of serving as professor and directing the theatre program’s final show, The Fantastiks, at the College’s closing in 2023. In addition to performing and directing across the south, Rebecca served as the Artistic Development Coordinator at Birmingham Children’s Theatre where she spearheaded the Theatre for the Very Young program. She is Chair of Southeastern Theatre Conferences’ Theatre for Youth Division, Chair of Alabama Theatre Conference’s Professional Division, and a founding board member of InToto Creative Arts Initiative. Rebecca still works as a fight choreographer and intimacy coordinator whenever possible.

Nicole A. Harris, MSIDT is the Chief Learning Officer of Nicole Harris Learning Solutions, LLC, where she designs human-centered trainings, presentations, workshops, and instructional materials that ignite the common thread of learning in the human experience. While in the classroom, she was recognized as the Alachua County Teacher of the Year. Harris has trained, facilitated, and spoken to over 2,000 people to date, both nationally and internationally.

Lisa Rathje is Executive Director of Local Learning, a National Arts Service Organization for folk arts in education where she strategically aligns programs and research to an ambitious mission of transforming education through culturally connected learning. She is also co-editor and founder of the Journal of Folklore and Education (JFEpublications.org), an freely accessed, multimedia juried publication.

Kalena Chevalier has over 20 years of experience working in Chicago's arts and culture community. She is currently the Director of the Creative Schools Fund at Ingenuity. Previously, she led the Cultural Grants Program at the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) from 2016 until May of 2024, concluding her service as the Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Grants and Resources. During her time at DCASE, the annual grants budget grew from $1.7 million to $12.7 million, alongside an additional $16 million in one-time American Rescue Plan funds.

Angela is a passionate believer in the power of data to drive change and is deeply inspired and driven by Ingenuity’s mission to advance arts education equity. As the Director of Data & Research, she oversees Ingenuity’s data products, including the management of the artlook® platform and the development of data tools and reports. She holds a B.S. in Statistics and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago, an M.Sc. in Statistics with Data Science from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently a PhD student in Research Methodology at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education.

O. David Deitz is retired music educator who currently serves as Fine Arts Education Consultant for the PA Department of Education (PDE). A 1999 finalist for Teacher of the Year, Mr. Deitz’s leadership at PDE has been acknowledged by Little Kids Rock/Music Will (2019 Educator of the Year), PA American Choral Directors Association (2021 Award for Choral Excellence), and the PA Music Educators Association (2022 Hall of Fame Inductee).

Dr. Lauren Conrad serves as the Education Associate for Visual and Performing Arts at the Delaware Department of Education, where she provides strategic leadership and oversight of arts programming across the state's public and charter schools. In this capacity, Dr. Conrad champions high-quality professional learning experiences for arts educators and contributes an arts-informed perspective to the Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Learning workgroup. A dedicated advocate for arts education at both the state and national levels, Dr. Conrad serves on the boards of the Delaware Music Educators Association and the Delaware Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and is an active member of the Delaware Art Educators Association. She currently serves as President of the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE), a national organization committed to advancing and strengthening arts education across the country.

Fine Arts Ed Consultant KSDE: multiple responsibilities state & national standards, policy, teacher professional learning. National Board Certified: Early/Middle Childhood & many years teaching K-12 Art Ed; emphasis in Arts Integration. Director 6 years Cultural Arts Program. Adjunct instructor, University of Kansas & Washburn University. Presentations: United States & Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Jen Jimenez, ACNP is a development executive and arts nonprofit leader with 20+ years of experience advancing performing arts and education organizations. She currently serves as Director of Development for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, where she leads comprehensive fundraising strategy supporting scholarships, advocacy, and international programs. Jen is known for building inclusive, high-impact fundraising programs and equipping arts leaders with practical tools to strengthen sustainability and expand access. She holds a Master of Vocal Pedagogy with distinction from Westminster Choir College and is an Advanced Certified Nonprofit Professional (ACNP). Jen brings a practitioner’s perspective to her work—bridging the worlds of arts education, fundraising, and community impact—and is passionate about equipping others with the tools and confidence to sustain and grow their organizations.

Karthikeyan Umapathy is a Professor at the School of Computing at the University of North Florida and Co-Director of the Florida Data Science for Social Good program. His research focuses on designing complex information systems and data science solutions, and he is recognized for his commitment to community-engaged learning, partnering with nonprofits and local organizations to provide students with real-world experience.

Dan Richard is a Professor of Psychology at the University of North Florida, where he teaches research methods, statistics, and social psychology. He is the founding Co-Director of the Florida Data Science for Social Good program, through which he partners with community organizations to apply data analytics and research to drive positive social change.

Lucy Chen is Vice President of Advocacy and Community Engagement at the Cathedral Arts Project in Jacksonville, Florida, where she drives collective impact strategies to expand arts education access. Her partnership with the University of North Florida’s Data Science for Social Good program helped demonstrate the impact of arts education and led to a citywide cultural field trip initiative that served thousands of students.

Kate represents Tulare County and the Central Valley as Regional Co-Lead for the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative. She works to advance arts education access and opportunities in rural California through policy alignment, funding strategies, and regional partnerships.

Dr. Lisa Donovan is a professor at MCLA and director of BRAINworks. She co-authored Leveraging Change: Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural Areas and has led regional and national initiatives advancing arts integration and collective impact. Her work bridges research and practice to expand equitable access to arts education.

Abe Flores is an advocate, administrator, and organizer advancing arts education in schools and communities. Raised in Boyle Heights, he saw how the arts can inspire youth and how unequal access limits opportunity. Now as Create CA’s Deputy Director, he leads programs, campaigns, partnerships, and policy efforts to help ensure every student has access to a quality arts education.

Kyle Holmes is an educator, playwright, and Director of the California County Superintendents’ Statewide Arts Initiative, where he leads efforts to expand equitable access to arts education across California’s 58 counties. His work centers on Proposition 28 implementation, county office network development, and strategic planning for arts education at the intersection of state policy and local practice.

Dr. Shaneka Ferrell is the Director of Programs at Cathedral Arts Project, leading inclusive arts programming for students in diverse learning settings. With a background in psychology, school counseling, and educational leadership, she specializes in culturally responsive, arts-integrated practices. Her work focuses on expanding equitable access through strategic partnerships and program design.

Anthony Beatrice is Immediate Past President of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association and a board member of Massachusetts Arts|Learning. He spent nine years as a K-12 music educator and previously served as Executive Director for the Arts for Boston Public Schools, where he is now Deputy Chief of Teaching and Learning.

Lizzie brings a diverse range of experience to her role at Maryland State Department of Education, including over two decades as music teacher and arts administrator, as well as overseeing high school drop-out prevention programs at United Way. She is a 2017 Maryland Leading Woman, Baltimore resident, and still performs regularly in orchestras and chamber groups across the mid-Atlantic.

Rachel's commitment to educational equity has inspired her career in education and nonprofit leadership. Her work at AEMS includes co-chairing Maryland's Fine Arts Education Advisory Panel to advise the State Superintendent and collaborating with statewide arts and education organizations. She is the recipient of the 2025 NAEA Distinguished Service Outside the Profession Award and Friend of MDEA.

Rob Horowitz is a consultant to arts organizations, school districts, and foundations. Dr. Horowitz was a contributing author to Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning, published by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the Arts Education Partnership, and Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, a compendium of 62 studies of arts learning and its connections to human development.

Charlotte Smelser is a leader and practitioner in arts education and arts integration. Her love for life-long learning led to working with teachers as reflective practitioners and action researchers. Her work focuses on assisting educators in telling the powerful story of their work in the classroom and in the community. She is currently Arts Education Director at the Mississippi Arts Commission.

Kathleen Staten is a former educator, strategy expert, and Florida native with 15+ years working across education, arts, policy, and philanthropy. She helps organizations align stakeholders, translate strategy into action, and move initiatives to implementation.

Laurie Chapman believes the arts have the power to transform communities. Through her leadership with the historic Elba Theatre, she works to expand arts education, support artists, and create cultural opportunities in rural Alabama.

Ashley Lucier is Executive Director of Amp Up Arts, working across Alabama to expand equitable access to arts education. A former English teacher and school leader, she is passionate about connecting the arts with student learning, leadership, and advocacy, especially in underserved communities.

Yaw is a Portfolio Manager at Learning through an Expanded Arts Program (LEAP), where they bring over ten years of experience leading youth-focused programming. Committed to engaging young people through data-driven program development and curricula design, Yaw brings a deep understanding of community-based youth development to their work.

Jeff M. Poulin is an American creative, educationalist, arts administrator, and social entrepreneur who believes creativity can shape a more just world. He is a public scholar and educator working globally in diverse learning environments. Additionally, Jeff founded and leads a suite of organizations which focus on understanding creativity and accelerating the people, organizations, and systems which cultivate it, including Creative Generation, the Foundation for a Creative Generation, Creativity Codex, and the Ingenium Consortium.

Taylor is a non-profit education and arts leader and Deputy Director of Arts Connect Houston. Born in San Antonio, she holds a BS in Advertising & PR from Abilene Christian University and an MBA from Lipscomb University. Passionate about what education unlocked for her and what it can do for others, she has dedicated her career to increasing access to high-quality education and opportunities.

Yael Silk has led Arts Ed Collaborative since 2018 as Executive Director, facilitating professional learning, evaluating programs, and advocating for culturally responsive arts education. She is passionate about ensuring all children in Southwest PA benefit from personally relevant arts learning. She previously consulted with schools and arts organizations nationwide to strengthen arts education.

Beth Lambert is the Chief Teaching and Learning Officer at the Maine Department of Education, where she leads initiatives that connect literacy, numeracy, and arts integration within a broader vision of equitable, interdisciplinary learning. With a career spanning classroom teaching, school leadership, and state-level systems design, she works to align policy, practice, and partnerships to expand meaningful learning opportunities for all students. Her work centers on collaboration, real-world learning, and sustainable systems change across rural and diverse communities.

Jazzmone Sutton is Senior Manager for State Advocacy and Equity at NAfME where she strengthens connection between state associations, members, and educational stakeholders via proactive advocacy. She also supports the Equity Committee whose purpose is to ensure that DEIA spans all facets of our work. Before joining NAfME, Jazzmone was an elementary music educator and advocate in North Carolina.

Amanda Karhuse is the assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy NAfME. This role includes lobbying, coalition-building activities, and strengthening the capacity of music education advocates. Amanda is also the lead lobbyist for the Arts Education Alliance, a strategic partnership between NAfME and the dance, media arts, theatre, and visual arts educator organizations.

Dr. Kim Wilson is Director of Arts in Basic Curriculum Institute at Winthrop University. Her work focuses on systems-level collaboration ensuring students in South Carolina have access to arts-rich educational opportunities as a core component of curriculum. This is accomplished through three programmatic priorities: ABC Certified Schools Program, Leadership Development, and Curriculum Support.