Inclusive Cheeky Unexpected Playful Clever Eccentric

Sean Layne

Melanie Rick

Sean is the founder of and Senior Consultant for Focus 5, Inc., and author of the book Acting Right: Building a Cooperative, Collaborative, Creative Classroom Community Through Drama. He holds a BFA degree in Acting and studied acting in London, England. Sean has worked in the field of arts integration for 35 years. He leads residencies for students K–8, presents workshops for teachers, and has designed training seminars for teaching artists nationwide for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was a National Teaching Artist for the Kennedy Center as well as an arts coach for their Changing Education Through the Arts program.

Melanie is a National Board Certified Teacher, certified reading specialist, and co-owner and Senior Consultant for Focus 5, Inc. She designs and leads workshops, in-depth courses, and summer institutes focused on aligning arts integration, best instructional practices, and current research in the fields of arts and education. Melanie was a National Teaching Artist, course leader and instructional arts coach for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art’s Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) program. She also served as the CETA program consultant for five years, working with teaching artists to develop and evaluate workshops presented at the Kennedy Center.

Daniel Barash

Garrett Brown

Harlan Brownlee

Daniel holds a master’s degree in Education from New York University and has pioneered the use of shadow puppetry in diverse formal and informal educational settings around the world. He leads residencies for students K–8, presents workshops for teachers Pre-K to 12, and as the Director of Firelight Shadow Theater, conducts assembly programs of best-loved folktales from around the world. He has been a National Teaching Artist with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since 2010.

Garrett Brown, a national teaching artist, specializes in cartooning, illustration, and sequential art (comic books). Powered by a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Missouri Kansas City and a Master’s in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri St. Louis, he combines over a decade of experience as an Art Specialist with a deep understanding of classroom dynamics. Based in Kansas City with his family, Garrett crafts engaging projects that resonate with both students and educators alike.

Harlan has worked in the field of arts integration for 40 years. He leads residencies for students K–12, presents workshops for teachers, and has led training seminars for teaching artists nationwide. Since 2002, Harlan has been a National Teaching Artist with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Harlan specializes in the integration of STEM curriculum with creative movement and dance. He holds a BFA in dance and a MA in Educational Research and Psychology.

Lorena Cervantes

Ryan Conarro

Imani Gonzalez

Lorena Cervantes has been a Dance Integration teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools for over a decade. She is a national workshop leader for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and a professional dancer. Lorena was a professor of dance at the National University of Costa Rica, and the director of the National Dance Company. She has a MFA in dance and was a Master Artist for the Wolf Trap Institute Early Learning through the Arts program.

Imani is a professional world/jazz vocalist, National Kennedy Center teaching artist, and children’s author. Her voice is featured on many of the National Geographic Television’s Explorer Series soundtracks. Imani has taught in the DC public school system and in private schools as a traditional world music teacher. She has had the honor of performing, touring, and recording with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for eight consecutive years. She has written two children’s world books entitled Dhimiki and Iyipo Aye.

Kassie Misiewicz

Jason Nious

Tanesha Payne

A professional Theatre for Youth director, actor and John F. Kennedy Center National Teaching Artist, Kassie received her MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences from ASU and in 2008, Kassie founded Trike Theatre: Northwest Arkansas’ professional theatre for youth and families. For the past 20 years, she has been implementing arts integration residencies, coaching teachers, and training teaching artists.

Jason Nious’ background with high school step teams and NCAA gymnastics set the stage for him to perform extensively with Cirque du Soleil, Usher, Stomp, Step Afrika, and numerous theatre and film productions throughout his career. Currently he is an Artist in Residence with the International Museum of Dance. Jason is the founder and director of Molodi, an award-winning body percussion ensemble. Molodi’s arts education program reaches over 20,000 students per year.

Tanesha Payne is a dancer, creator, advocate, and teaching artist based in San Antonio, TX. With a BFA in Dance Studies and an MFA in Choreography, she merges artistry and education to make dance accessible while honoring its integrity. Tanesha creates inclusive spaces that inspire curiosity, empathy, and imagination through the transformative power of movement and storytelling.

Maria Schaedler-Luera

Kay Thomas

Sam Tidwell

Maria, a Brazilian-born educator and artist, specializes in Theatre of the Oppressed and has taught at Harvard Extension, Lesley University, and the American Repertory Theater. She developed gallery classes for immigrants at Harvard Art Museums and managed Arts Integration for Any Given Child Sarasota. A seasoned improviser, she studied at AMDA in NYC and holds a master’s in Intercultural Relations and Arts for Social Change from Lesley University.

Visual artist/sculptor, Kay Thomas, holds a BFA and MFA in ceramics and is a national teaching artist with Focus 5 and the Kennedy Center. With over 35 years of experience in art integration, Kay is a designer/presenter of integrated arts experiences for students and teachers that guide participants in translating concepts from the curriculum into visual works of art. Teachers learn how they can actively teach objectives by using a student-created art product.

For years, Sam Tidwell was a classroom teacher at a Kennedy Center Turnaround Arts school in California. Rooted in his teaching experience, Sam’s primary directive as a teaching artist is to help his students grow and learn in an engaging, healing, and rigorous way. Nationally, he trains schools in behavior literacy and the arts through Acting Right and his residency Academic Songwriting. He also founded Avatar Arts and runs art classes in his hometown.

Paige Whelan

Kuniko Yamamoto

Paige Whelan is a problem solver! She strengthened this muscle during her 20-year career in education, which included creating media arts workshops for the Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) program. As a 5th grade teacher at a Title I CETA school in Virginia, she regularly integrated visual, dramatic, and media arts strategies and became a National Board Certified Teacher and Teacher of the Year.

Trained in traditional arts and dance in her native Osaka, Japan, origami artist Kuniko Yamamoto has lived in Florida since 1992. Kuniko received national exposure performing Japanese Storytelling at the Silk Road International Exposition and on Kansai National TV in 1985. Over the last three decades she has presented her programs throughout the United States. She received the Tempo Award from Origami USA in 2007. As a passionate artist and teacher, Kuniko opened Origami Air Art Studio in 2017.