2024 Candidate Statements and Bios

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Dr. Boyd's commitment to philanthropy and community engagement has revitalized fundraising efforts at the institutions she has served, resulting in record-breaking contributions and impactful industry collaborations. Her leadership extends beyond academia, driving regional economic development through initiatives that serve to accelerate economic growth through innovative startup ventures and financial literacy initiatives for individuals and small businesses.
Prior to her tenure at VCU, Dr. Boyd held pivotal roles at West Virginia University (WVU), where she spearheaded transformative growth in business education over her 14-year tenure. During her time at WVU, the institution saw transformative growth in business education, including elevation to R1 Carnegie classification. Dr. Boyd steered initiatives that propelled the Chambers College of Business and Economics and Department of Finance through enrollment growth enrollment, philanthropic giving and extramural funding. Her student-centered approach is evident in experiential learning endeavors such as bi-annual trips to New York City, offering invaluable industry exposure, and the establishment of the West Virginia Student Managed Investment Fund.
Dr. Boyd's scholarly contributions in financial market dynamics have earned her recognition as a thought leader and significant scholarly contributor. Her career is anchored by transformative leadership and impactful student experiences, an unwavering commitment to education, and a relentless pursuit of innovation, shaping a brighter future for business education with true societal impact. A mission driven leader, she seeks opportunities that will allow for direct alignment of her previous non-profit work in both finance and dance, and the intersectionality of the Treasurer role at NDEO provides her with this path of impact.

BIO: Naomi E. Boyd, Ph.D. currently serves as the 27th Dean and Chief Operating Officer of the Daniels College of Business (DCB) at the University of Denver, where she works collaboratively with university leadership to shape the future of higher education and advance DCB in meaningful ways through innovative programming, strategic realignment, and market relevance. She is a seasoned leader with a diverse background spanning industry, government, academia, and the arts, with over two decades of expertise in strategy, fiscal management, and academic administration. Passionate about the intersection of business, industry, and the arts, she is dedicated to shaping the next generation of socially responsible business leaders equipped with cutting-edge innovative mind sets and entrepreneurial spirits.
She grew up in the Arts district in Dallas, Texas where she attended Greiner Middle School and Booker T. Washington Highschool for the Performing and Visual Arts. She spent years training with Ballet Dallas, Dallas Black, Buster Cooper’s School of Dance, and Ballet Austin. She earned a BFA in Dance with a focus on ballet from the University of Texas at Austin and danced professionally for several years in Texas. A spinal injury caused an unexpected and early retirement. She went on to study business, eventually earning a PhD in finance and working in industry, government, and academia for the past 25 years. She returned to the dance world in 2009, teaching in Morgantown, West Virginia, where a desire to bring the arts to Appalachia, created pathways to engage in community based work and teaching at Morgantown Dance Company, AW Dance Company, and West Virginia University. Most recently, she served as President of the Board of Directors of Conflux Dance Company, a diverse, contemporary dance company headquartered in Richmond, VA. Her recent move to Denver, CO required her to step down from the dance company’s board where she had worked to increase fundraising, build out a strategic vision for the company, and oversee the production of the company’s multiple performances each year to ensure fiscal stability and growth opportunities.
Previously, she served as the seventh Dean of the School of Business at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where Dr. Boyd spearheaded a transformative vision for business education and co-led academic transformation for the VCU campus. Under her guidance, VCU's School of Business collectively created a strategic roadmap, Bridge 2028, a comprehensive strategic plan that aligned the school's core values and served as a catalyst toward a revitalized future.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: As a part of NDEO’s Board of Directors, I hope to bring forward the South Central region's voices – their questions, their concerns, and their celebrations. I have always sought community in our field, and I know firsthand how isolating it can be to be the only dance teacher in your school, area, city, or district, which is something the teachers in our region face every day. In addition to this, with my vast experience in K-12 and private sector dance education, I hope to be a representative for these teachers, who have been underrepresented in the past, but are necessary members of the dance education community. I am personally and fundamentally committed to the mission of “Dance Education for All,” specifically the education and growth of dance educators. I have worked in my district to: provide specialized professional development opportunities to dance educators, mentor student teachers and new dance educators, improve our state’s standards and curriculum maps in dance, and advocate for dance in our schools. NDEO is the leader of continuing education for dance educators, and I want to do everything I can to support our organization as it continues to support the growth and learning of our teachers. Having served on the Advisory Board previously, and several other leadership roles in the past, as well as currently serving on the Board of Directors, I have gained skills and experience that will strengthen my impact on our organization, such as communicating and connecting effectively, inspiring confidence, and expanding common ground among team members. In a diverse environment, I celebrate collaboration, and work to emphasize the skills needed in its effectiveness, such as adaptability, cultural awareness, empathy, delegation, and trust-building, among others. My teaching and personal life practices are centered around the utilization of collaboration, as I know it enhances productivity and creativity, improves problem-solving, increases collective learning and growth, and betters relationships between the members of a team. Because of my personal commitment to and experience in collaborative practices, I know I am prepared to cultivate collaboration as a member of NDEO’s Board of Directors. Although I was appointed to the Board recently, I have gained experience in policy-making, legislation and the initiation and following through of new ideas that has prepared me to continue my work on the Board of Directors. I still have a much to learn in these areas, but I look forward to the possibility of renewing my role, and being given the opportunity to continue to grow.

BIO: K. Brooke Jerome is a K-12 Dance Educator for Memphis-Shelby County Schools (TN), and an award-winning teacher and choreographer in the private sector at numerous dance studios, schools, community theatres, and arts organization throughout the Mid-South. She was recognized as a “Level 5” Educator by the Tennessee Department of Education (2024), and was recently awarded “Best Choreography” at the NWMTA Allie Awards (2023) and “Outstanding Choreography” at The Orpheum Theatre’s HSMTAs (2023). Brooke holds a BFA in K-12 Dance Education from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she was awarded “Outstanding Dance Educator” in 2018. Brooke is the Co-Artistic Director of Hot Foot Honeys Tap Dance Company, which works to preserve, promote, and perform rhythm tap across the Mid-South. Brooke currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Dance Education Organization as the South Central representative. She also served as the Undergraduate Student Representative from 2016-2018, and presented at NDEO’s 2017, 2018, and 2019 National Conferences.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: I believe access to dance education is an essential part of equitable and high-quality education. With over 20 years of combined experience as a dance teacher in K-12, higher education, and the independent sector, my teaching experience includes creating a dance program for a Title I middle school in Arizona, running an Irish Dance school in Phoenix that produced multiple world-qualifying dancers, adjunct teaching dance for Arizona State University, and experience as a dance/theatre teaching artist and choreographer in Chicago. I am proud to have had many opportunities to serve as an arts leader, including serving as the Fine Arts Education Specialist for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, Arts Education Specialist for the Arizona Department of Education, Vice President of the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE), Electives Department Chair for Fees College Preparatory Middle School, and on the Board of Directors for NDEO.
As a K-12 dance teacher, I designed and implemented the first dance program for the district. It was essential to me that the program was inclusive for all learners. This involved deconstructing student-teacher power dynamics, decentralizing Western-European dance styles, adapting curriculum and teaching strategies to support English language learners and students with disabilities, and continual professional learning. Through community collaborations, increasing performance opportunities, and advocating for sustainable funding I grew program enrollment by 60 percent. During this time, I was an active member of my former state-level organization (AZDEO) and helped to coordinate the implementation of two Dance @ the Core Residencies for two elementary schools, and created virtual dance resources for teachers during the pandemic.
As the Arts Education Specialist for Arizona, I led cohorts of educators to create instructional resources for all five arts disciplines, including sample lesson plans and social-emotional learning integrated arts lessons. I also created and delivered professional learning on arts standards, assessment, culturally inclusive teaching practices, and strategies to leverage federal funding to support the arts. In addition to providing technical assistance on state arts policy and programmatic monitoring of 66 Title IV-A grantees ($2.9 million), I had the opportunity to engage in dialog with district and state-level arts advocates and educator leaders about how the arts are a part of a well-rounded education and as such, a student’s civil right. In my current capacity as the Fine Arts Specialist for Ohio, I led the final stages of the arts learning standards revision and adoption, the creation of high-quality instructional materials rubrics for arts curricular adoption, and provide technical assistance on state arts education policy. In support of the agency's priorities to accelerate learning, I provide professional learning on high-quality arts learning and state and federal arts education policy to support teachers, districts, and state arts organizations in implementing high-quality arts learning. This past year, I successfully advocated for Ohio to update its data-sharing agreement for the Arts Education Data Dashboard to include student-level data analytics that will allow for Ohio-specific data on the impact of arts learning. In my capacity at the state education agency, I serve as the Vice President of the SEADAE where I cultivate the professional learning series for SEADAE members and support the NEA grant writing process and projects. Most recently, SEADAE launched the Customized Arts Learning toolkit website, the culmination of two years of grant projects, to support culturally affirming and sustaining practice in the arts.
I believe that elected leaders should embody the qualities they seek to inspire in others. I intend to be a Policy Board Member who listens to all ideas and perspectives, remains grounded and rational in decision-making, and maintains a strong vision for the future of dance education. As a part of NDEO’s strategic planning team, a member of the Finance Committee, and the Interim Treasurer, I have worked to ensure organizational and financial sustainability to support the other strategic priorities of access and inclusion, professional development, and advocacy. My experience, unique perspective, and dedication to dance education align with the mission, vision, and strategic priorities of NDEO. As a Member of the Policy Board of Directors, my goal would be to continue to center decision-making that ensures equitable and high-quality dance education programs, initiatives, and resources.

BIO: Helen serves as the Fine Arts Education Specialist for the state of Ohio. An active leader in arts education and policy, Helen served on the Board of Directors for the NDEO ('22-'24) and as the Vice President of the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education ('23-'25). She has 20+ years of combined experience teaching dance in K-12, higher education, the independent sector. She is currently a Ph.D. student studying Educational Policy (OSU) with a focus on arts educational policy and educational equity. She holds an MFA in Dance (ASU), MEd in Educational Foundations (NAU), is an RSDE, RYT200 and STEAM Certified Educator/Administrator. Helen's research and in-practice work on pedagogy and curriculum has been published in JODE, DEiP, JDSP, and JMD. Helen is passionate about ensuring all students have access to well-rounded, high-quality arts education.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: While serving in the position of Advisory of Awards, my vision is to continue to help the reimagination of the awards process and awards cycle for NDEO. My strategy is to continue to contribute to an equitable and inclusive ecosystem; one that brings forth awareness of hidden and unconscious bias to those within it. Our Biases get in our way if we are unaware of ourselves, our journey, privilege, and our impact on others and society. When we are not reflective of who we are, we miss using our tools and gifts to make the world a better place. I have had the honor of serving in the position of the Advisory of Awards for the last three years and have been able to with the support of NDEO to strongly help reimagine the awards and its criteria and processes and make great impact. The work has been trailblazing and I have been able to inspire and invigorate the awards committee over the last three years many of whom have return to help in the awardee selection process. I want to continue this work another term so that many in the future of NDEO can continue building upon the work I have been able to accomplish in a short time. This has been an exciting journey thus far and I look forward to more!

BIO: Yauri Dalencour, PhD(c), MFA, MA, BFA, BA is an interdisciplinary visual and performing artist, anthropologist, scholar, educator, is on faculty at Howard University and is a technologist working at META with the Fundamentals in Artificial Intelligence Research Team on an open-source Machine Learning project. Yauri also serves on various peer-reviewed journal’s editorial committees and serves as a Board of Directors for the National Dance Education Organization. Yauri’s early doctoral research focused on Dance at HBCUs, in her MFA work she focused on Stereotypes in Black Motherhood in Performance, her MA was focused on Dance as Culture in Educational settings and her current doctoral research focuses on the effects of visuality across social media and it’s impacts on attitudes and behaviors toward human experiences and the use of digital tools to engage with visuality improving human experiences and perceptions of self and community. More specifically, she is investigating the evolution in Black visuality and its impact on shifts in behavior and interests in Black Dance influenced by social media. She is concerned with intersections in the arts, culture, technology and education and holds bachelors degrees in Dance as well as in International Studies. Yauri is a wife and mom and is based between NYC, Washington DC and Silicon Valley.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: :Ananya Goswami is a Kathak Artist and Visual Artist with 20 years of experience who has demonstrated remarkable dedication and talent in both Art forms. She is the Artistic Director of Srishti-the Kathak Academy based in DE and Head of Dance Dept. in a Non Profit Org based in USA. Ananya has taken an active role in volunteering to provide Kathak training to communities in the USA. Through these efforts, she has been instrumental in spreading awareness about the importance of preserving and nurturing Indian Classical Dance form Kathak, particularly among young minds. Ananya Goswami's dedication to community engagement and cultural preservation is truly commendable. Each year she trains, choreograph for stage shows for different productions not only with her Academy students but also involve community people of different age group and organize large show for the Non profit org. With her leadership skills, organizational skill, teaching and training methods and techniques, time management skills - she trains, motivates all age groups starting from 4 years old to 60 years old. Being Head of Dance Department in a Non Profit org she dedicates more than 100 hrs for Volunteering each year by Educating and Teaching Dance in community and put up 3 large stage shows each year in USA.
Her dedication, responsibility, professionalism, passion for Dance, Analytical Thinking, communicational skill, and keen observational skill definitely makes her strong candidate for the Advisor Council role.

BIO: Ananya Goswami is a Kathak and Visual Artist with 20 years of experience, showcasing remarkable dedication and talent. As the Artistic Director of Srishti-the Kathak Academy in Delaware and Head of the Dance Department in a USA-based non-profit, she has trained under renowned gurus like Late Pt. Birju Maharaj ji and Vidushi Saswati Sen ji. Ananya has received a National Scholarship from the Government of India and several awards. She is a member of NDEO and a prestigious Indian Raga Fellow Artist, serving as a judge for dance contests in the USA and India. Ananya was featured in Late Padma Vibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji's production "Srishti" in Kolkata, a testament to her skill and commitment to Kathak. She also performed at Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji’s Kalashram event, showcasing technical excellence and deep cultural understanding. Ananya has performed across various states in the USA and conducted workshops, including judging the Kathak Dance competition at the USA’s 1st Marghazhi Festival.
Beyond performances, Ananya actively volunteers to provide Kathak training in the USA, spreading awareness about preserving Indian Classical Dance. Her dedication to community engagement and cultural preservation is commendable.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: As the Advisor of Development, I understand my role is to ensure the organizations success regarding funding. With my background in both the arts and business, I often find myself acting as an interceder for both congregations. One of my primary specialties is grant writing and donor recruitment. This past year, I acted as an Arts Management Fellow for a university performance group and was able to obtain full funds, $4789, for 7 artists to travel to and from NYC for a live performance at National Sawdust.
With my background in Business Management, I am incredibly well spoken and have little issues speaking truth to power. My first degree was a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio TX, a Private Liberal Arts University whose Business School is 2nd in the nation in Community Service. Having had introductions into the corporate world at a young age, I understand that complexities of navigating the financial circuits and investments. Most corporate donors are often looking to invest their time and money into organizations that not only share their values but also can bring profitable and marketable returns. It is often known that Dance Organizations and Business Corporations can often come into conflict regarding their views and understandings of the world. I fully intend to dedicate myself to seeing various fruitful and harmonious relationships built between this organization and various others.
In my current role as a Human Resources Specialist, I often act as a mediator for my working associates and my members of management during times of disagreements. My job is to ensure that communication is clear, and that each individual has the opportunity to be heard. One of my primary achievements in my current role, is the sharp decrease in employee turnover which saw a 32% drop from 133% from when I started my position this past June, to 101% this past May. One of the biggest feedback items I received was how my associates didn’t feel valued, heard, nor understood. So, I took it upon myself to begin to develop stronger relationships with my associates and management teams, ensure and oversee policy changes, develop various strategies of associate retention, and an overhaul of the current training systems to include programs that focused on equality, tolerance, respect, and integrity. My abilities to connect with a diverse group of individuals to ensure success is consequential to the success of my community.
Regarding my service to the dance field, I am a former secondary educator where I specialized in teaching Social and Ballroom dance forms to students that ranged from 7th to 12th grade. I was responsible for the development of a Ballroom dance curriculum that is currently still being utilized in various charter schools around the U.S. Currently, I am completing my third year at Arizona State University, completing my M.F.A. in Dance.

BIO: Lane Swenson, is currently obtaining their MFA in dance and am in their 3rd and final year at Arizona State University. Lane Swenson has been a dance educator for the past 10 years and has worked in Secondary and Higher Education. They specialize in Dance History, Dance Cultures, Global Contexts, and Critical Inquiry. They also specialize in teaching various social dance forms which includes but aren't limited to: Western Social Dance, Ballroom Dance, DanceSport, and Afro-Latin social dance forms. Lane Swenson has developed and overseen the creation of various social dance education programs in both secondary and higher education institutions. They also hold a degree in Business Management and have worked as a Corporate Human Resources Manager for the past 6 years. My skills include, but aren’t limited to: events management, marketing, dance curriculum design, training and development, music editing, financial analysis, and talent acquisition.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: As a nominee to serve the Development Committee, the NDEO Board and the Organization’s constituents, I look forward to the opportunity to craft and implement a development and fundraising strategy that will help NDEO expand their programming and resources for members, and beyond.
Specifically, I hope to secure resources so that the NDEO can be secure in long-term programmatic goals, and reach an even broader swathe of the dance educator network, unrestricted by socio-economic circumstance. My goals include expanding the reach of our giving community to not only individual and planned gifts, but to corporate grants, gifts in kind, and foundational charitable giving. The work of the NDEO is aligned so beautifully with many of the charitable giving goals of the foundations and corporations that I am already familiar with, and I look forward to making connections that support the interests of both the generous supporters and NDEO as a beneficiary. Beyond my 20 year career as a performing and teaching dance artist, I have experience working specifically with development and fundraising in arts organizations in the dance, dance education and circus fields, and have run successful fundraising campaigns, developed effective strategies, and reached long term goals with those organizations. Having worked both as a team member and as a team leader, I have access to empathy and skills for both collaboration and direction. I have strong organizational and time management skills, and an adaptability for working on both short and long term projects. Further, I have experience in grant-writing, writing letters of inquiry, relationship tracking and developing relationships with potential donors. I also have useful systems for organizing opportunities and deadlines which I look forward to implementing with NDEO in a bespoke way. I’m also able to speak to, and write about, the impact of the NDEO in a style that feels effortless and rich in anecdote, given my long career in the industry. I find that some of the most nuanced and effective ideas and strategies are born from diverse experiences and fields of thought, and I look forward to getting to know the team at NDEO, and expanding it, to that end.
Personally, coming from predominantly small, scrappy, low-budget organizations has afforded me the experience of having to think creatively, lean into the varied experiences of the team, and delegate thoughtfully. I thrive in leadership roles because I care deeply about people. My work is always to keep humanity and community care at the center of every project, and I’ve found when that stays true, a team can flourish. One of the more memorable teams to have worked with in a leadership role was for a small circus organization in New York. I devised and created a paid-internship program that brought 3 interns to our summer-long project, each with specific goals and focus as part of the broader staff. Together with two other staff members, I led the team through a summer fundraising campaign that featured “immersive marketing events”, where we embedded experiential learning and immersive performance into community events such as Farmer’s Markets and Local Festivals. Simultaneously, we marketed and fundraised for our own upcoming events, while enriching the local community with family-friendly performances and fun, workshop-style learning! Our team was able to not only exceed our fundraising goal and fill our house for our performances, but established our organization as a pillar in the community - and I dare say the interns left the summer feeling like they learned a ton!
In dance, we often say that floors have memory. When we dance, play or perform on them, we think of and honor those that came before, and those that will come later. I have been a long-time member of the NDEO, have attended many of the conferences and programs, and have experienced both its strengths and its weaknesses. In that same dance-based anecdote, I look forward to honoring those that came before me in support of this organization, and those that will come later. It would be an honor to have the opportunity to make an impact for this organization, and in effect, make an impact for the constituents that benefit (or will benefit!) from NDEO in the future. Thank you for your consideration!

BIO: Leighann Kowalsky is a Hudson Valley and New York City based dance artist with a BA in Communications & Psychology (Marist College) and an MFA in Choreography (Jacksonville University). Kowalsky is an active performer with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company under the direction of Katherine Duke, AuraCuriatlas under the direction of Joan Gavaler, and a number of other independent and seasonal companies. She also choreographs on commission and as a guest across the globe.
Kowalsky has consulted on development for several arts organizations, including the Contemporary Circus and Immersive Arts Center in Troy, NY, where she designed and executed their Development Strategy, becoming the second best funded Circus Organization in New York. Kowalsky is creating and initiating similar strategies as the Global Coordinator for the Institute for the Study of Somatic Communication (Nita Little), presently. Most recently, Kowalsky co-wrote the curriculum for the MFA in Choreography program at Reinhardt University, and is serving as Research Advisor to the inaugural Cohort of MFA candidates.
As a passionate educator, communicator and researcher, Kowalsky often volunteers on boards, panels and teams to plant seeds for new organizations, revise long-standing programs at existing organizations, and disrupt infrastructures that are no longer serving our communities.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Vision, goals strategies and related experience (1, 7): After serving in this position for the past 3-year cycle, I have seen the full time-line, processes, and potential improvements/needs of the NHSDA offerings. After year 1, with the collaboration of NDEO staff, I made subsequent improvements to the student application platform, instructions/samples, and questionnaire. After year 2, we assessed and made alterations to the adjudicator materials, rubrics, application organization, and selection processes. After year 3, I recommended and enacted changes to yet more facets of the NHSDA Merit award procedure. In the next 3 years, I’d like to continue developing more effective and efficient ways to streamline the process from all perspectives (student applicants, adjudicators, and staff/committee members), along with building more awareness of the Honor Society in general - increasing reach, partnerships, and communication efficacy. My service to the field (2) and my leadership experience (3) includes my work in NDEO, along with being a board member of ACDA for the past 7 years, with continued (academic & creative) research and Arts advocacy efforts, grant-writing, and professional dance residency-building at my own institution. In addition to directing a college program for Dance majors, I co-chair a performing arts department that includes colleagues in the fields of Acting, Musical Theatre, Theatrical Design & Technology, and Theatre/Dance Pedagogy. Within the department, I’ve also created a DEI Task Force and related course/Forum (4), as well as a 4-day Dance Festival (MAD – Movement and Dance) that happens annually, and celebrates the diversity of dance in its many forms, offering classes, guest lectures, and performances to the community.

BIO: Heather Roffe (MFA), Professor/Program Director of Dance, currently co-chairs the Department of Theatre & Dance at Nazareth University, and is also certified in Evans Dance Technique and BASI Pilates for Dancers. Her pedagogical practice includes teaching Dance technique (Modern, Ballet, Contemporary/Partnering) with an anatomical, embodied, somatic, and constructivist approach. She has also designed Nazareth’s Dance curriculum and teaches courses in Improvisation, Choreography, and Somatic Anatomy/Kinesiology. Roffe is an active scholar, advocate, and artist in the field of dance. She has performed/toured with Garth Fagan, Bill Evans, FuturPointe Dance, and with her own company, HR Dance. Her choreography has been presented in the DUMBO Dance Festival, Rochester Fringe Festival, and NYC’s SoloDuo Festival. In 2018 she was awarded NYDEA’s “Outstanding Educator in a Post-Secondary School,” and in 2024 was awarded Nazareth's Excellence in Teaching award. Roffe serves on the board of ACDA (Northeast), and on NDEO’s Advisory Council in the role of NHSDA (Honor Society) Advisor.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: As the nominee for the Advisor to the National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA), my vision is to cultivate an inclusive and dynamic environment where every aspiring dancer can thrive. My primary goal is to ensure that NHSDA continues to be a beacon of excellence, fostering a community where passion for dance is celebrated and nurtured. To achieve this vision, I will implement strategic initiatives focused on expanding access to dance education, enhancing mentorship opportunities, and promoting diversity and inclusion within the organization.
In service to the field, my commitment extends beyond the classroom. I have actively contributed to the advancement of arts education through curriculum development, advocacy efforts, and collaboration with local and national organizations. By leveraging my expertise and network, I will advocate for policies that prioritize arts education and secure resources to support NHSDA's mission.
My leadership skills and experience are anchored in a deep understanding of pedagogy, curriculum design, and organizational management. As a curriculum writer and educator, I have honed my ability to inspire and empower others, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth. I have also demonstrated proficiency in strategic planning, budget management, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring the success of various educational initiatives.
In diverse environments, collaboration is key to success. My collaborative skills have been tested and proven through partnerships with educators, administrators, policymakers, and community stakeholders. By embracing diverse perspectives and fostering open communication, I have successfully led interdisciplinary teams to achieve common goals and drive positive change.

BIO: Quan Powers, a devoted advocate for arts education, brings over 14 years of experience to the forefront of the field. With a Bachelor of Science in Dance from Stephen F. Austin State University as the cornerstone of his journey, Quan has cultivated a rich tapestry of skills and knowledge. His dedication to enriching the educational landscape led him to pursue dual master's degrees, one in Curriculum and Instruction from Southwestern College and another in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas. As a seasoned educator, Quan has left an indelible mark, having taught theater and dance while also shaping curriculum to inspire the next generation of artists and leaders. Beyond the classroom, he ardently champions the transformative power of the arts, advocating for its integration into every facet of learning. With Quan Powers at the helm, the future of arts education shines brightly, promising boundless opportunities for creative exploration and personal growth.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: 1) In this position I hope I can learn to become a better educator as well as represent my fellow students to honor their best interests. While teaching at Western Washington University, professional classes around the world, and young dancers in local studios, I have done my best to impart upon my students, not only a better of understanding of the physicality of dance but also an understanding of how to accomplish it safely, a respect for the history of the movement, and a sense of welcome and belonging. I do this by recognizing individuals’ various backgrounds and the different ways people learn and understand. I also do my best to create openness and humility in myself and in my classroom. I hope to utilize similar strategies in this role: accepting others’ points of view, recognizing what I may not yet know, and constantly learning. In so doing, I believe I can be a conduit for Graduate Students’ best interest.
2) Teaching has been a longstanding passion of mine. My first two jobs were teaching skiing and swimming. It is immensely fulfilling and gives me purpose. I endeavor to help my students surpass my own abilities without compromising their well-being. My desire to follow a path into academia was solidified when I joined Western Washington University where I am currently employed as Contemporary and Hip-hop Adjunct Faculty. As my first form of dance, breaking and hip hop are ingrained in my bones, much like a bi-lingual speakers’ first language. In the contemporary space today, breaking has had an immense impact on movement and one can find examples of its use on social media and onstage. While many honor the culture, some are inadvertently appropriating. To help resolve this I take ample time during my rehearsals and classes at Western Washington University and in professional settings to teach the culture and history of hip-hop. I feel I have made progress on this issue in my own circles, but this is an area where more can be done and I aim to research and develop ways to create broader change in the dance community. I feel the NDEO will aid me in my journey of developing and sharing hip-hop culture in nontraditional and academic spaces.
3) Leadership is a cornerstone of teaching. I view my role as an instructor as a guide for my students to discover their best selves both as dancers and as humans. And I believe that is what defines a good leader. In addition to my years as a teacher, I have co-founded and directed two dance companies. During this time I led groups of dancers, guided our organizations, and created spaces of inclusivity and safety.
4) As a dancer I have had the opportunity to collaborate in a number of environments with a number of people from various backgrounds. During many of these processes we were tasked with working together to dance, create, and perform as a unit. While dancing for the Seattle Opera our cast of dancers had to navigate meeting a group of brand new people and instantly working together seamlessly to create a pristine production in a quick and high stress rehearsal process. We succeeded in this by remaining honest, humble and allowing each other the space for mistakes when rehearsing. It also taught me the importance of patience; patience for others to succeed in their own time, and patience with myself if and when I did make a mistake.
5) During my time as Co-Director of Forthun+Rome we had dancers of many backgrounds, ethnicities and orientations. We always did everything we could to create an environment of openness and inclusivity. We held regular check-ins with our dancers to allow them space to bring to light any issues they may have been struggling with. In addition, we did our best to create a supportive environment that identified the positives that each dancer brought instead of honing in on negatives as is still too common in many dance studios/companies. These provided the foundation for a collaborative space and company which advanced our artistic work.

BIO: Ethan Rome is a half Korean and Norwegian dancer, teacher, and choreographer based in Seattle, Washington. His contemporary work has a wide vocabulary of experience, utilizing his background in breaking, hip-hop, and martial arts. Conceptually, his work often draws on themes of identity, heritage, and philosophy. He has trained at Jacob’s Pillow and danced professionally for the Khambatta Dance Company, Seattle opera, and choreographed for KDC, Price Arts N.E.W., Intrepidus, Bridge Project, BOOST, Western Washington University, Gonzaga University, and co-founded Forthun+Rome Dance Theater and the Trillium Dance Collective. Ethan currently teaches at Western Washington University and has a received a Graduate Assistantship at the University of Illinois beginning August 2024.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Any student in the SUNY Brockport Department of Dance, graduate or undergraduate, can tell you: if you have a concern, Lóri will listen. I am a graduate student starting my second year in Brockport’s Master of Arts in Dance curriculum, and I am a nominee for NDEO’s Advisory Council as a Graduate Student Representative. In this position I wish to inform the Organization on the current state of dance educator training, as embedded in graduate study. Some institutions house specific degrees for dance education, however, many MA and MFA programs no longer offer the sequences of dance pedagogy courses that prepare confident teachers through classroom observation, fieldwork, and praxis. Programs have gravitated towards creative expression and technical expertise, while graduate students remain without the educational tools that enable successful communication of this creativity and expertise to the next generation of dancers. I wish to help NDEO better tailor their toolbox and support for graduate students, and their curricular recommendations for graduate schools.
In my efforts, I will collate the experience of students from institutions across the country, to understand what policies students find supportive and conducive. I will check in with students serving as Teaching Assistants, particularly, to understand the support they receive in their specific role. As a budding scholar, my research projects and my participation at various conferences further puts me in contact with my fellow graduate students for these important conversations.
I have frequent discussions with my own cohort about our needs and what coursework and policy strengthens us in our development. In my undergraduate program at Hamilton College, I completed my thesis amid a campaign to maintain the dance department’s access to large-scale performance spaces, as opposed to simply studios with awkward bleachers. I supported that struggle as a vocal fighter not just for the department, but for the Student Dance Alliance, a campus club, where my involvement included lots, from lighting to social media to even makeup. At Brockport, my service continues in their Student Dance Organization, this time as an elected board member responsible for inviting guest artists. As the only graduate member of this club, my dedication to extracurricular involvement with dance remains evident, now across two schools.
My participation in dance extracurriculars fits into a longer list of leadership and experience. At Hamilton College, I served as a student representative to their Planning and Grounds Committee and the Funding and Budget Committee—both of which oversaw capital projects during my time of providing student input. At Brockport, I similarly sat on the Committee for Scholars Day, which planned a day-long extravaganza of research celebration. Probably most significant in my leadership, in my undergraduate years, I led the Cultural Affairs (later Justice, Equity, and Inclusion) Committee of our student government, for almost two years. Scheduling meetings, planning campus-wide events, coordinating with offices and departments made up my daily duties. For our success, though, I drew on my first ever job experience as a project manager at a small library in my hometown, and the dozens of events I planned from the brainstorming stage all the way to cleanup and debriefing.
My vocal nature and advocacy during my studies also led me to organized labor efforts at both schools, first working to establish a student employee union, and popularizing my current one among dance graduate students—all work that helped me amplify the voices and needs of my peers. I appreciate your consideration of my candidacy. I look forward to serving NDEO’s Advisory Council just as much as serving all my peers in this representative role.

BIO: Lóri Fejes is a student and scholar of dance and dance history. Growing up in Hungary he practiced folk dance at an early age but found his true calling for dance in college, when he began training in ballet and modern, to overcome childhood trauma. He is now a graduate student, researching dance as politics and advocacy, trying new styles whenever he can, and choreographing ritual, folk, and contemporary pieces. He is a member of the seventh cohort of NDEO’s PK-12 Mentorship Program, hoping to cement his studio teaching before beginning doctoral studies in dance.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: 1. My vision for this position is to encourage other dance majors and studios to join this community, understanding how it can benefit them as well as provide benefit to the dance profession as a whole by engaging in key topics affecting them as students and future professionals. My goal is to engage fellow students through the communication programs of NDEO, including newsletters and social media, and identify other methods or outlets that the current generation of college and high school students are using, to encourage students to voice their opinions, ideas, and concerns. Overall, my goal is to support students and encourage them to express their concerns.
2. I have served the field as a substitute teacher for a variety of dance studios. As an undergraduate student at West Virginia University (WVU), I have worked very closely with some of my professors helping out in classes whenever needed. I also work with WVU’s NHSDA program’s community outreach efforts and adult dance classes. I also help out by being on the student dance association board.
3. Beyond teaching children and adults I have participated in other leadership roles within my dance programs. I currently hold the position of secretary to the student dance association, an NSO organization, where we work with dance majors, minors, and anyone at WVU who wants to dance, with performance and master class organization and fundraising. My program has a mentorship program where upperclassmen mentor incoming freshmen in an effort to create a smooth transition from high school to college and help them feel more welcome in our school. I have formally mentored students for one year.
4. My collaboration skills in a diverse environment come from being a neurodiverse person as well as being a part of a generation that has been very open and accepting of differences. I have the ability to understand, appreciate, and adapt to cultural, learning, and other nuances, allowing team members to collaborate across cultural boundaries. From my own experience and having empathy for others, I advocate for a variety of methods of communication, be that in writing, quick videos, online interactions, as well as in-person events, all in an effort to gain strong engagement and understanding in a warm and welcoming environment. My natural traits of being welcoming to all have been something my teachers since pre-school have regularly acknowledged and appreciated.

BIO: Hello, my name is Rachel Mehle and I am a current student at West Virginia University majoring in dance and multidisciplinary studies focused on forensics, criminology, and anthropology. I am a native Coloradoan and have worked with various studios around the Denver area. I was very happy to attend my first-ever conference this past year in my native city as it made my overall time at the conference an even greater experience. My school had its own table at the conference and I was happy to be a representative and talk to various attendees about my program and how we work with a dance science program.