Evelyn Burnett

Co-founder and Partner, ThirdSpace Action Lab

Evelyn Burnett is a co-founder and partner of the ThirdSpace Action Lab and Third Space Café. Prior to this exciting venture, Evelyn served as Vice President, Economic Opportunity at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress an intermediary whose mission is to foster communities of choice and opportunity throughout Cleveland. Prior to joining CNP, Evelyn served as Associate Director for Program Strategies with Admiral Center at Living Cities, project director in the city of Cleveland’s Office of Sustainability, and as a 2007-2008 Cleveland Executive (Coro) Fellow. Evelyn is a 2018 German Marshall Fellow and sits on the board of several organizations throughout Northeast Ohio and nationally including ioby (In Our Back Yards), Credit Builders Alliance, Teach for America, Birthing Beautiful Communities, Dance Cleveland, Walsh University School of Business and CTMDreams. Evelyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Organizational Communications & Public Relations with a double minor in Sales & Marketing and Dance from The University of Akron during which time she studied abroad in Ghana, Africa; and a master’s degree in Public Administration from The University of Akron.

Website: https://3rdspaceactionlab.co/

Twitter: @evburnett

Mordecai Cargill

Co-founder and Partner, ThirdSpace Action Lab

Mordecai Cargill is a co-founder and partner of the ThirdSpace Action Lab and Third Space Café.  Prior to starting this exciting venture, Mordecai served as the Director of Strategy, Research & Impact at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), a community development funding intermediary committed to fostering inclusive neighborhoods of choice and opportunity throughout the city of Cleveland. Mordecai provides oversight and analysis for the implementation of the Cleveland Neighborhood Progress 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, focused primarily on 3 key areas of activity: Program Design and Evaluation; Research and Thought Leadership; and Partnership and Resource Development. Since joining Team CNP in 2014 as Manager of Fund Development, Mordecai’s responsibilities have included project management for strategic initiatives such as an Organizational Assessment (2014), and the planning process for the 2017-2021 Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Strategic Plan (2016). He also contributes to CNP’s emerging Policy, Advocacy & Research body of work, and co-leads the organization’s efforts to elevate racial equity and inclusion as a citywide community development priority. Mordecai earned his BA in African American Studies from Yale University, with a concentration on Black Culture in the 20th Century. He was awarded the William Pickens Prize for his Senior Thesis entitled, “The Black Arts Iconography of John Coltrane

Website: https://3rdspaceactionlab.co/

Twitter: @MCargill28

Calida Jones

Assistant Director of Education and Engagement, Hartt School

Calida Jones began studying the piano at the age of 3 while attending Nursery School, and switched to violin at the age of 6 when she entered Thomas G. Pullen Performing Arts School in Landover, Maryland. Currently, Calida is the Assistant Director of Education & Engagement at University of Hartford’s The Hartt School. She also serves as Program Director for Music Matters, and the Conductor of the Hartford All-City Youth Orchestra in conjunction with the Charter Oak Culture Center. Prior to those roles, Calida was appointed Director of Development and Advocacy for the El Sistema inspired program PROJECT MUSIC from 2018-2019. In 2012, Calida was hired by the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra to design and implement the El Sistema inspired program “Bravo Waterbury!” (Bravo). She continued her work in Waterbury until August of 2018. She continues to consult with organizations all over the country. An accomplished musician, social justice advocate and educator, Calida’s work has taken her all over the world teaching and performing. Calida is passionate about intentional purposeful teaching and community engagement. Her personal mission is to ensure that children who have limited resources also have access to musical opportunities and activities. She knows that this type of musical exposure and education will benefit them and build their confidence which will catapult them to successful careers, regardless of the career path. She is committed to correlating the art of teaching to life skills, and community building. Calida has had the privilege of speaking multiple times at the prestigious Yale School of Music, Duke University, Ravinia, The Connecticut State Capitol, The Hartt School of Music, and was a Tedx speaker in San Jose, CA. Most recently, Calida has consulted with Sphinx Organization, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Utah Cultural Alliance, and a host of other organizations. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Bachelors of Fine Arts in Violin Performance), she received her Masters in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from The Hartt School of Music. Calida is honored and humbled to have received awards, and honors during her career including a scholar fellowship at the Aspen Festival of Ideas, The Elizabeth Mahaffey Fellowship, a Grammy nomination for the Music Educator Excellence Award, the Father Thomas H. Dwyer Humanitarian Award for her work in Waterbury, Connecticut, and the 2018 CT Arts Hero Award in Waterbury CT. Calida serves on the Board of The Hartt School of Music, El Sistema USA (Board Clerk), and chairs the Racial Diversity and Cultural Understanding Committee; she also serves on the board of the Connecticut Arts Alliance.

Website: www.cnjassociates.com

Georgina Pazcoguin

Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet

Co-founder of diversity initiative “Final Bow For Yellowface” Georgina "The Rogue Ballerina" is breaking glass ceilings in the world of Ballet. Celebrating a 18 year career with world renown New York City Ballet, she aims to be named the company's first female Asian American Principal dancer. A steadily rising star, she is an ambassador of her art form across the platforms of Ballet, Broadway, and Film. Known as the "The Rogue Ballerina" she empowers those not fitting the "balletic ideal stereotype" with her story of success and rise through the ranks of NYCB. She most recently can be seen on stage at David H. Koch Theater and on TV in the hit Fosse/Verdon tv series. In addition to her many credits including award winning film “New York Export Opus Jazz”, Ivy in the revival of “On the Town” and originating the role of Victoria in the 2016 revival of “Cats”, Georgina is a passionate activist for foundations Orphan Starfish, Arteamor, using ballet as a universal language tool raising awareness and impacting social change.

Website: GeorginaPazcoguin.com     

Instagram: @Georgina_Pazco

Bryan Doerries

Artistic Director, Theater of War Productions

Bryan Doerries is a New York-based writer, director, and translator, who currently serves as Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions. A self-described evangelist for ancient stories and their relevance to our lives today, Doerries uses age-old approaches to help individuals and communities heal from trauma and loss. During his tenure at Theater of War Productions, the company has presented diverse projects across the United States and internationally, using dramatic readings of seminal plays and community conversations to confront topics such as combat-related psychological injury, end-of-life care, racialized violence, prison reform, gun violence, domestic violence, addiction, sexual assault,  and the refugee crisis. Doerries’ books include The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today (Knopf), The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan (Pantheon), and a collection of his translations of ancient Greek Tragedies entitled All That You’ve Seen Here is God (Vintage). He has taught courses at Princeton University, Bard College, the University of Connecticut, and the Bard Prison Initiative. His academic degrees include a BA in Classics from Kenyon College and an MFA in Theater Directing from the University of California, Irvine. Among his awards, he has received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Kenyon College, and in March 2017, he was named Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) for the City of New York, a joint appointment with the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services and Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about his work, please visit: www.theaterofwar.com.

Facebook: Theater of War

Twitter: @theaterofwar

Instagram: @theaterofwar

Phil Woodmore

Composer, Vocal Coach, and Music Educator

Saint Louis native, Dr. Philip A. Woodmore has been an active member of the St. Louis music community for many years. Phil received his bachelors from Saint Louis University in Business Marketing and Music Vocal Performance and then went on to receive his masters from Webster University in Music Education.  He recently graduating with his PhD in Music Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research interest are the changing voice and voice pedagogy and his dissertation is on the transformative power of music in the choral setting using the auditioned choir in the Off-Broadway run of Antigone in Ferguson.   

Phil taught choir one year at Ferguson and Berkley Middle Schools in the Ferguson-Florissant School District and then went on to become the choir director at Crestview Middle School in the Rockwood School District where he taught for 12 years.  Along with his work in Rockwood, Phil was the Coordinator of the Voice Program at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and the artist director of the Allegro Music Company from 2008-2017, has been the director of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department Choir since 2009,  was the director of the Northern Arizona University Gospel Choir from 2014-2017, Artist in Residency for the State of Arizona for a two year term 2016-2018, minister of music at Trinity Community Church from 1992-2018, and vocal coach to many in the St. Louis and New York.

In August 2016 Phil was asked to compose an original score of a version of Antigone translated by Bryan Doerries called Antigone in Ferguson which has been traveling the country for the past four years and premiered internationally in Athens, Greece in June 2016. Since the success of Antigone in Ferguson, Phil has written an original score for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last sermon The Drum Major Instinct and also for a speech by Frederick Douglass.  In 2018 The Drum Major Instinct premiered in Athens, Greece and was performed on several college campuses during the 2018-2019 school year. In 2018 Antigone in Ferguson ran in an Off-Broadway theater in New York for a five-week workshop and in 2019 it ran for ten-weeks at the St. Ann and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, New York. Philip is excited for several collaborations in 2021 including a production of Pirates of Penzance in which Phil’s company P. Woodmore Music, LLC will be a producing partner and will provide all the music for the show.  Phil will be joining the Muny family for the 2020 summer season and he is looking forward to a great partnership as the Music Director for Muny Kids. For more information on Dr. Philip A. Woodmore please visit www.philipawoodmore.com

Twitter: @phil_woodmore

Sara Leonard

Founder, Sara Leonard Consulting, LLC

Sara R. Leonard is an arts management consultant, researcher, and educator specializing in audience building, strategic planning, and leadership & team development. With more than fifteen years of experience in nonprofit management, extensive work for and with arts organizations, an MA in Arts Administration, and a BA in theatre, Sara develops the capacities of arts and cultural organizations to fulfill their missions and be vibrant and vital parts of their communities. As Founder and Principal of Sara Leonard Consulting, LLC, her clients nationwide represent a diversity of artistic disciplines from theatre to fiber arts, presenting and producing organizations, arts councils, and more.

In addition to working directly in partnership with client organizations, Sara furthers her commitment to capacity building in the cultural sector by offering workshops, presentations, and webinars for national, regional, and local conferences and organizations that have included the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, the National Arts Marketing Project Conference, South Arts, Georgia Presenters, Maryland Presenters, and others. Her most frequently requested workshops are on audience development, plan creation, and team and leadership building.

Sara complements her client-facing work with research both independently and, formerly, in cooperation with MBK Analytics, with whom she co-authored the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2015 report When Going Gets Tough: Barriers and Motivations Affecting Arts Attendance. Sara and her collaborators also performed the Planning Study and Pilot Test for the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts for the National Endowment for the Arts. These projects build on her award-winning graduate research, which developed a community-generating approach to audience development for the nonprofit arts.

Sara is an adjunct faculty member and graduate thesis advisor for Goucher College’s MA in Arts Administration program.

Learn more about Sara and her work at: www.saraleonardconsulting.com.

Twitter: @saraleonard

Instagram: @artsadminnerd