MusicianCorps National Training and Program Launch, Attendees

MUSICIANCORPS 2009-10
NATIONAL TRAINING CAMP

Eric Booth – Actor; Author; Faculty, Juilliard School

In arts learning, Eric Booth has served on the faculty of Juilliard for the past thirteen years, where he co-founded the Arts and Education Program as well as the Mentoring Programs; he has also taught at Stanford University, NYU, Tanglewood (5 years), Lincoln Center Institute (25 years) and The Kennedy Center (12 years). Eric was the faculty chair of the Empire State Partnership program for three years and held one of six chairs on the College Board's Arts Advisory Committee for seven years. He serves as a consultant for many organizations (including seven of America's ten largest orchestras), cities, states, arts service organizations, and businesses around the country. Formerly the director of the Teacher Center at the Leonard Bernstein Center, Eric is a frequent keynote speaker on the arts, arts education and creativity; he delivered the closing keynote speech to UNESCO's first worldwide arts education conference as well as the keynote to the first world conference on orchestras and community connections. As an actor, Eric has performed in many plays on Broadway, Off-Broadway and around the country. As a businessman, he started Alert Publishing, which, in seven years, has become the largest company of its kind in the U.S. analyzing research on trends in American lifestyles. An accomplished author, Eric has had five books published, including The Everyday Work of Art (1997), which won three awards and was a Book of the Month Club selection. He has written three-dozen magazine articles and was the Founding Editor of the Teaching Artist Journal. Eric’s new book, The Music Teaching Artist's Bible, was published by Oxford University Press in February.

Jason Brown – Teaching Artist, Performing Arts Workshop

Well-known in the San Francisco dance scene, Jason Brown has worked with the City and County of San Francisco's Human Services Agency, San Francisco Unified School District, Lighthouse of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Bayview Hunter's Point YMCA, Street Beats, Coalition on Homelessness and San Francisco Network Ministries. Jason is a guest accompanist for West African Dance classes at Oberlin Dance Collective/San Francisco, City Dance and the Malonga Casquerland Performing Arts Center. Jason was the Musical Director of Ayoluwa African Dance Company and has accompanied Modern and traditional West African dance classes at Spelman College as well as various African Dance Companies in Buffalo, New York, where he also taught elementary school. Jason studied abroad at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, East Africa, and earned his MA in English from the University of Vermont.

Sam Cobbs – Executive Director, First Place for Youth

Sam Cobbs discovered his passion for helping kids as a basketball and baseball coach in Mississippi. He is now the executive director for Oakland's First Place Fund for Youth, a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 to remedy the lack of services available to youth who are making the difficult transition from foster care to independent living. Prior to this position, Sam was the Physical Education and Health Director and later Branch Manager for the Boys & Girls Club of Oakland. He also spent eight years at Larkin Street Youth Services. In his final years at Larkin as the Director of Program Services, Sam opened San Francisco’s first emergency shelter for young adults ages 18–24 and assisted in the design and implementation of two of the nation’s most innovative housing programs for youth—Ellis Street Apartments, the city’s first permanent supportive housing program for youth, and Larkin’s Extended Aftercare for Supportive Emancipation program (LEASE). Sam earned a BS in Psychology from Cal State Hayward and an MS in Counseling.

Robert W. Collins – Program Manager, BUMP Records

Robert W. Collins oversees all operations of the BUMP Records label, including production, marketing and artist management. He has spent over ten years in marketing, branding and media management, including stints as General Manager of Live Up Records and Nu Gruv Alliance, Executive Publisher of Ruckus Magazine and Founder of Ruby Avenue Artist Management. Robert earned his BA in political science from Morehouse College.

Tom DeCaigny – Executive Director, Performing Arts Workshop

Tom DeCaigny has over ten years of nonprofit leadership experience in the fields of youth development, education and arts administration. He serves as Executive Director of Performing Arts Workshop, a 43-year-old nonprofit arts education organization in San Francisco, CA. He joined the Workshop in 1999 as the Program Manager for the Paul Robeson and Diego Rivera Academy, an alternative arts middle school and day treatment program for repeat juvenile offenders. Prior to that, Tom managed the AIDS Memorial Quilt’s National Youth Education Program, served as the Director of Actor Training for the University of Minnesota’s Adolescent Actors Teaching Project, and conducted research for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. He is an alumnus of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Youth Leadership Institute. Currently, Tom is a LeaderSpring fellow and serves as Board Co-Chair of LYRIC, a San Francisco-based community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth. He is also chairs the Steering Committee for "Making Art, Making Change,” an upcoming conference which seeks to examine the relationship between art and social justice. Raised in northern Minnesota, Tom earned his BA degree in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN.

Tony Deifell – Visual Artist; Social Entrepreneur

Tony Deifell has spent over a decade creating youth-generated media projects, including From the Hip, Youth Voice Radio, and –ISM(N.), which was recognized by the White House as a national model of diversity education, using video diaries to address race issues. He serves as Chief Strategist for KaBOOM!, serves on the board of directors of Active Voice, advises film and television projects, and continues to develop participatory media-making productions such as WDYDWYD? (Why Do You Do What You Do?). Tony was an artist-in-residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts, taught documentary studies at Duke University, and was a national leadership fellow with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. He taught photography at Governor Morehead School for the Blind from 1992 to 1997, authoring Seeing Beyond Sight: Photographs by Blind Teenagers, a book of photographs taken by his students as an innovative, multi-sensory means of self-expression. Tony earned his BA in Socio-cultural Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Barb Else – Board Certified Music Therapist

Barb Else is a music therapist based out of Tucson, Arizona. In addition to her therapy practice, Barb is a professional studio musician specializing in concert and ethnic flutes and is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. She serves as Senior Director of Research and coordinator for disaster response and recovery at the American Music Therapy Association. Barb is also a mental health volunteer with the American Red Cross and the U.S. Public Health Service Medical Reserve Corps, responding to emergency events nationwide. A former Presidential Fellow and employee of the U.S. Public Health Service, Barb holds a master’s degree in Health Policy and Economics and is licensed as a Creative Arts Therapist.

Urubu Malandro – Founder, Capoeira USA

Urubu Malandro is a Capoeria Mestre and native of São Paulo, Brazil. He studied for over 20 years under the esteemed Brazillian Mestre Suassuna. In 1990, he formed the professional Capoeira group Gingarte, and performed throughout Brazil and South America, the U.K., and the US. In 1989 and 1991, Urubu went on tour as a featured dancer and musician with the internationally acclaimed folkloric revue, Oba!Oba!. In 1993, he appeared in the San Francisco Opera's presentation of Turandot to rave reviews. Urubu is also an accomplished percussionist with extensive knowledge of Brazillian rhythms, including classic samba, afoxe, and the sacred rhythms of candomble. He has played with the best Brazillian bands in the Bay Area and is sought after as a studio musician, specializing in Afro-Brazillian music.

Eva Jo Meyers – District Coordinator, SFUSD ExCEL After School Programs

Eva Jo Meyers is a District Coordinator for the San Francisco Unified School District’s ExCEL After School Programs. Prior to joining SFUSD she held positions as a Media Program Manager for the San Francisco Conservation Corps, Education Director with the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco, and bilingual classroom teacher in New York City through Teach for America. She is a former Fulbright Scholar and holds a CA Teaching Credential in Art, an MA in Humanities and Leadership, and a BA in Visual Arts. Eva fronts the all-female band, Making Dinner, and has released two albums on her label, postmodrecords.

Corey Newhouse – Area Evaluation Consultant, Music National Service

Corey Newhouse is the Founder and Principal of Public Profit. She has a wide range of experience in evaluating programs that serve children and families. Prior to founding Public Profit, she headed the evaluation division of Hatchuel Tabernik and Associates (HTA) where she was responsible for managing and performing dozens of youth service organization evaluation contracts totaling more than $1 million annually. Subsequent to her work at HTA, she was a Senior Policy Associate at Children Now where she was responsible for the development and publication of several widely-released research reports, including the California Children’s Report Card, California County Data Book, and Children in Immigrant Families: A California Data Brief. Corey earned her BA from Columbia College and MPP from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley, with specializations in urban education and evaluation.

Mardie Oakes – Executive Director, Hallmark Community Solutions

Architecture has inspired Mardie Oakes since she was a child. Believing that innovative design could create stronger communities and healthier lives, she founded Hallmark Community Solutions, a nonprofit working at the intersection of finance, design, policy and community to create affordable housing for those most in need. Before HCS, Mardie spent five years as a nonprofit housing developer in the Fifth Ward, Houston’s lowest income community. She then moved to San Francisco to serve as Director of Lending for a nonprofit bank, where she invested $20 million of private capital into affordable housing projects in the Bay Area. Mardie attended Rice University School of Architecture and earned her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kristin Papania – Teacher Coach, Performing Arts Workshop

Kristin Papania is a Senior Teaching Artist in Creative Writing and Arts, Literacy Specialist, and Teacher Coach with the Performing Arts Workshop, as well as a Writing Teacher Consultant with the Bay Area Writing Project. Her area of expertise is literacy development through arts integration. She has taught all levels from preschool through adults in Oregon and throughout the Bay Area. Kristin earned her BA in Spanish from the University of Oregon, and a Teaching Credential from Holy Names University in Oakland, CA.

Erik Plaks – Director, Bronx Lab Jazz Orchestra

Eric Plaks is a professional jazz pianist and veteran music teacher in New York City public schools. He taught 3rd graders for three years through Teach for America. Moving out of the classroom, he created chorus and band programs as a general music teacher. Eric was then selected for the Founding Planning Team and Founding Board of Directors for Bronx Charter School for the Arts, a public K-6 elementary school in Hunts Point, South Bronx. As the Director of Arts, Eric created a band program integrating general keyboard and music literacy. Eric then expanded the program to Bronx Lab high school, where his students have played for local politicians and appeared in an ABC News Special produced in May 2009. Eric started his music career at Princeton High School Studio Jazz Band. He has a BA in Russian Literature from Harvard University and two master’s degrees in education from City College and Teachers College, and he is a National Board Certified Band teacher. He continues to perform and record as a professional jazz pianist in New York City.

George Simpson – Principal, The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (Arts High)

George Simpson has more than a decade of experience in arts education. Prior to joining Arts High, he served as director of a Boston public high school with a focus on music, the Roland Hayes School of Music. From 1999 to 2006, George was a founding faculty member of the Boston Arts Academy, the city’s first and only high school for the visual and performing arts, where he was a teacher and chair of the Department of Music. George’s work at BAA led to the inception of the Berklee College of Music Preparatory School in 2000. He has presented at conferences throughout New England on topics ranging from urban education to curriculum design and sits on the advisory board of the Boston Classical Orchestra, and Urban Music Coalition. A native of Toronto, Canada, George began his musical studies on trombone. For three seasons he was a member of the Band of the Ceremonial Guard, the official band of Canada’s head-of-state in Ottawa, Canada. George attended Humber College in Toronto with studies in jazz and commercial music. He then earned degrees in Music and Education from the University of Western Ontario and a Master’s degree in Music Education from Boston University. George was certified in school administration at Northeastern University with additional studies in special education and education administration at Harvard.

Nicole Sumner – Music Educator, San Francisco

Nicole Sumner grew up in Italy, and after a self-aborted career playing the viola da gamba, she became a truck driver and found her voice in the American pro-choice movement of the 70's. She moved from street chant to street theater and eventually the poetry slam circuit, becoming Seattle's first Grand Slam Poetry Mistress. She is known for her layering of improvised sound and text with a digital delay pedal. Her Masters project, “Passion and Structure: Teaching Improvisation Across the Arts,” examined the teaching strategies of 18 Bay Area improviser/educators. Nicole holds a Masters with honors in Interdisciplinary Arts and Education, from SFSU and a BA in Theater from Cornish College. She is certified in Orff-Schulwerk music education from Mills College. She has studied Chinese luogu percussion with Dr. Han Kuo-Huang Han at Indiana State University, and jazz with Roland Wiggins, Jay Clayton and Doug Goodkin (Orff Jazz course). She teaches in San Francisco public schools, SF Community Music Center and
St Joseph’s Family Shelter.

Bernie Trilling – Senior Director, Oracle Education Initiatives, Oracle Corporation

Bernie Trilling is Global Director for the Oracle Education Foundation, directing the development of education strategies, partnerships, and services for the Foundation's ThinkQuest program. Prior to joining Oracle, Bernie was a Director for the Technology In Education group at WestEd, a national educational laboratory, where he led a team of educational technologists in integrating technology into both the instructional and administrative realms of education. Additionally, Bernie has served in a variety of roles in both education and industry, including executive producer for instruction at Hewlett-Packard Company, where he helped run a state-of-the-art, global, interactive distance learning network. As an instructional designer and educator, Bernie has held a variety of professional educational roles in settings ranging from preschool to corporate training. Bernie is an active member of a variety of organizations dedicated to bringing 21st Century learning methods to students and teachers across the globe, including a co-chair position on the Board of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. His favorite learning formula is "3Rs X 7Cs = 21st Century Learning."

Maura Wolf – Staff Consultant, Shinnyo-en Foundation

Maura Wolf has fifteen years of experience launching nonprofit ventures and assisting individuals and organizations to become more effective through coaching and leadership training. She has assisted in the design of training for City Year, Citizen Schools, JumpStart, Youth on Board, The Bonner Foundation, and COOL. She is the founder of Boston Do Something, the YES Ambassador program of the Points of Light Foundation, and Virginia COOL, all campaigns to engage young people in community action and develop their leadership capacities in the process. Maura is the author of two books, Light One Candle: Quotes for Hope and Action and Exploring Realities: Stories of Young Women Making Decisions and Finding Meaning. A Kripalu-trained yoga instructor, and a 360-report writer for Fortune 500 Executives, as a staff member with the Center for Advanced Emotional Intelligence, Maura has put a lot of attention on integrating her mind, heart and body. Maura recently completed her MA in Leadership at Saint Mary’s College. She does individual and group coaching through MindWing, is married and the mother of a one-year-old son.