Jon Anderson is associate professor of music composition at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) and composes a variety of acoustic and electroacoustic music. Having frequently collaborating with dance artists, his research centers on kinesthetic approaches to creating music. His music has received honors, awards, invitations and performances from the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), the NYC Electronic Music Festival, the National Dance Education Organization, Judson Memorial Church, Triskelion Arts, the Symposium for Arts & Technology, the International Society for Music Education, the Pierre Schaefer International Competition of Computer Music, the Cuban Institute of Music & National Laboratory of Electroacoustic Music, the Society of Composers, Inc (SCI), Electroacoustic Barn Dance Festival, the Studio 300 BYTE Gallery International Exhibition, the Florida Electronic Music Festival (FEMF), Electronic Music Midwest, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Friends & Enemies of New Music, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, SCI/ASCAP, and Voices of Change. Anderson is the resident composer for the modern dance company Take Root Dance. Jon teaches OPDI-120 Music Theory and Applications for the Dance Teacher.

Ann Biddle M.A., Dance Ed, Columbia University, B.A., English Lit, Kenyon College and Fulbright Scholar. Ms. Biddle has been a dance educator, staff developer, curriculum consultant, writer and choreographer for the past 30 years. She is the Founding Faculty of the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at 92Y and is currently the Director of DEL at Jacob’s Pillow. Ms. Biddle has worked many dance companies as a curriculum consultant including: Flamenco Vivo, Jose Limon, Ballet Hispanico, Urban Bush Women, HT Chen, and Jonah Bokaer. She has been a facilitator for the NYC DOE Dance Blueprint since 2005. Ms. Biddle worked at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Public Charter School in MA from 2010 – 2018 as the Leader of the Dance Department and Director of Arts Programs. Ms. Biddle’s dance curricula include: New York Export: Opus Jazz, Jerome Robbins: The Essence of Cool, Doug Varone and Brenda Angiel’s Aerial collaboration, Dances for iPhone film series, Wonderdance, Dance Making & Langston Hughes Poetry, The Essence of Pearl Primus, and Into Sunlight – A Teacher’s Guide. Ann teaches OPDI-118: Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) Essentials.

Jane earned her doctorate in education at Temple University. Dr. Bonbright dedicated fifty-five years to the field of dance specializing in performance, education, research, administration, and dance/arts advocacy at national and state levels. She began her career as a professional ballet dancer and toured the United States and Europe with major ballet companies. She is founding director of the Maryland Youth Ballet (MD), home school of artists Susan Jaffe, Julie Kent, Cheryl Yaeger, Roger Plaut, Joanne Danto, and hundreds of other professional ballet dancers .She taught for thirty-five years in professional-oriented training academies, K-12, and colleges and universities before focusing on national issues involving policy, legislation, and funding for arts and education. Dr. Bonbright served as President and Executive Director for the National Dance Association before joining NDEO as Founding Executive Director in 1998 where she worked to establish NDEO as the national service organization for dance arts in US education. Dr. Bonbright served as Project Director for Research in Dance Education (2001-2005) and Professional Teaching Standards for Dance in the Arts (2005) and many national task force commissions. As Founding Executive Director of NDEO, Dr. Bonbright worked with over 100 federal/state government agencies and arts/education associations to ensure dance arts is included in the national agenda in U.S. education. She is the recipient of CORD’s Outstanding Leadership in Dance Education Award (2005), CODA’s Alma Hawkins Award of Excellence in Dance in Education (2007), and NDEO’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). Jane teaches OPDI-M5: Writing Successful Funding Proposals, OPDI-117: Developing Strategic Leadership in Dance and Life.

Patricia Cohen, MA is an adjunct faculty member in NYU/Steinhardt’s MA dance education program, where she mentors student leadership to promote enhanced understanding of diversity and equity. Cohen develops and teaches courses for NDEO’s Online Professional Development Institute, including the Professional Teaching Standards for Dance Arts; Dance History: Global, Cultural and Historical Considerations, and two mini courses. She presents regularly at NDEO and other national and international conferences. Cohen contributed two chapters to the 2014 book, Jazz Dance: A History of Roots and Branches, Guarino and Oliver, editors. She co-created NDEO’s 2016 and 2019 special topics Jazz Dance conferences, which were based conceptually on the book and on contemporary issues in jazz dance. She contributes to and serves on the editorial board of NDEO’s Dance Education in Practice journal. A founding member of NDEO, Cohen has served on the NDEO Board of Directors. She received the 2011 NDEO Leadership Award. Pat teaches OPDI-101: Introduction to Professional Teaching Standards for Dance Arts, OPDI-111a&b: Dance History: Global, Cultural and Historical Considerations, OPDI-201: PTSDA Portfolio Development, OPDI-M2: Elements of Movement, and OPDI-M4: Developmental Domains.

Dr. Dilgen holds a doctorate in physical therapy from Long Island University and has completed coursework for a doctorate in pathokinesiology from NYU. She has been treating dancers at Harkness Center for Dance Injuries for more than 25 years and was a founding physical therapist for the program. She specializes in orthopedic manual therapy, rehabilitation, and functional training for performing artists and is certified in mat Pilates. Dr. Dilgen has treated dancers from numerous companies, Broadway shows, and schools.

Ali Duffy (PhD, MFA) is Professor, Associate Head, & Graduate Director of Dance at Texas Tech University and the Artistic Director of Flatlands Dance Theatre (www.flatlandsdance.org). Dr. Duffy's book, Careers in Dance, was published in 2020. Her forthcoming book, Dancing Motherhood, will be published by Routledge in 2023. Additional books in progress: Research in Dance (Human Kinetics) and an open-access text, Meet the Dancemakers (Raider Publishing). Her research has also been published in the Journal of Dance Education, the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, Dance Education in Practice, the Journal of Arts Management, Society, and Law, and she presents internationally at academic conferences. Recent guest opportunities include University of South Florida, Virginia Tech, Central Michigan University, Alma College, University of Detroit, Lindenwood University, COCO Dance Festival. Her work has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and multiple regional foundations.

DR. RIMA FABER, PhD, MA, BA - Rima returned to academia after a full career as performer, choreographer, director of several performing companies, and founder and director of the Primary Movers Dance School and Company (1979-2000). Her thesis focused on kinesthetic learning for primary school age children and centered on cutting edge research in cognitive and brain development. Her dissertation researched the philosophic and pedagogical principles of the National Standards for Dance Education. She taught in DC Public Schools from 1980-1997. In the mid- and late 1990s, Rima worked with National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on developing, facilitating, and implementing the national assessments in arts education. Rima is the founding President and Interim-Executive Director of the National Dance Education Organization, where she served as Program Director for 12 years. At NDEO, she led the development of Standards for Dance in Early Childhood, the NDEO 2005 Standards for Dance Education in the Arts, and chairs the Dance Task Force for Dance for the National Core Arts Standards in Dance. She served as Research Director in NDEO’s research initiative Research in Dance Education and was co-editor for Priorities for Research in Dance Education: A Report to the Nation. She has presented her research regularly at conferences since 1996. She founded and was President of Capital Region Educators of Dance Organization (CREDO) before it morphed into the Maryland Dance Education Association (MDEA), served on the Advisory Boards of a number of prominent local and national dance organizations, and is actively on the Advisory Board of Dance Teacher+ magazine. Her teaching in higher education includes Montgomery Community College, American University, New York University, and is entering her seventh year in a summer residency at the University of Northern Colorado. In 2002, she received the NDEO Visionary Award, in 2004, was admitted into the American University Performing Arts Hall of Fame, presented the DanceMetro DC Dance Educator Award in 2006, and honored by a Lifetime Achievement Award from NDEO in 2014. Faber developed her first online distance learning course in 2010 and has taught for Rutgers University, George Washington University, and consistently in OPDI. Faber continues to create numerous innovative curricula and professional development programs that can inspire and promote the full depth, scope, and joy of dance!

Lindsay is the director of the dance program at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. There, she has facilitated the dramatic growth of the dance minor program while founding and directing Extensions Dance Company, which has performed in concerts and festivals throughout New England. A native of Buffalo, NY, she has taught and choreographed in jazz and contemporary styles at schools including Providence College, University at Buffalo (SUNY), University of Arizona, and over twenty private dance studios, in addition to jazz dance master classes at conferences and festivals across the country. Lindsay published the textbook Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches with co-editor Wendy Oliver in 2014, and later planned and hosted NDEO’s “Jazz Dance: Roots and Branches in Practice” conference in the summer of 2016 at Salve Regina. She holds a BFA in dance from the University at Buffalo and an MFA in dance from the University of Arizona. Lindsay taught OPDI-M12: Jazz Dance Theory and Practice from 2017 to 2020. Beginning in 2021, Pat Taylor will be teaching this M12 Jazz course.

Thomas K. Hagood is recognized for his writings on the history and policy for dance in American higher education. Texts and original research examine the life and work of Margaret H’Doubler and Alma Hawkins, the organization and sociology of dance in American education, curriculum design for dance, and kinesthetic potentials in dance education. At the University of Utah he was TA to Sally S. Fitt (1978-1980) and assisted in the development of her text, Dance Kinesiology. At Wisconsin he delved into the teaching legacy of Margaret H’Doubler and consolidated the data that would lead to his dissertation and 2000 text A History of Dance in American Higher Education: Dance and the American University, the first comprehensive history and analysis of the development of dance in the American academy. In 2006 he was invited to be founding editor of the Cambria Press’s book series in dance, a series he currently edits with Dr. Luke Kahlich. He served as convening president and 1st past president of the National Dance Education Organization, founding past president of the Florida Dance Education Organization (FDEO), PI and content area chair of the NDEO’s Research in Dance Education Project. Awards include the 2002 NDEO Special Honors Award, 2005 NDEO Visionary Award, and the 2005 FDEO Leadership Award. Currently serves the NDEO’s OPDI, and directs URBANEediting, “an editing, text development, and coaching service for those who bring creativity to life, work, and communication.” Thomas teaches OPDI-M10: Movement Behavior Analysis and Profiling in Dance.

Mr. Honrado, an athletic trainer at Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Health, provides backstage care to Broadway shows and elite dance companies as well as injury prevention assessments and educational lectures to the dance community. He received his MS in athletic training from Seton Hall University and is currently pursuing a PhD in Athletic Training from A.T. Still University. Mr. Honrado is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and a registered yoga teacher. Joshua teaches OPDI-116: Harkness Center for Dance Injuries: The Applied Science of Dancer Health and Injury Prevention.

Robin earned her MFA in kinesiology and pedagogy from the University of California/Irvine and her MS in exercise physiology and biomechanics from California State University/Fullerton. She is a licensed massage therapist and certified in Pilates. Since 2006, she has been on the faculty of Chapman University where she teaches Dance Kinesiology and Injury Prevention, Movement Anatomy and Exercise Physiology, Dance in World Cultures, Pilates Conditioning, Ballet for Non-majors, Ballet Technique, Conditioning, and a Pilates Certification Course. She guest lectures for Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, and Education Departments. She has authored numerous publications and has given extensive presentations on anatomy, kinesiology, and original research. She is an active member in the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, Performing Arts Medicine Association, American College of Sports Medicine, and the Pilates Method Alliance as well as NDEO. Robin teaches OPDI-110: Dance Kinesiology and Applied Teaching Practices.

Dr. Liederbach, Director of the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Health, is a physical therapist and certified athletic trainer who holds a doctoral degree in biomechanics and ergonomics. She has provided backstage therapy for hundreds of dancers, dance companies, and Broadway shows and has published numerous papers and lectured internationally. Dr. Liederbach formerly danced professionally and worked as a critically acclaimed choreographer. In 2010, she was inducted into the Dance Library of Israel Hall of Fame. Marijeanne teaches OPDI-116: Harkness Center for Dance Injuries: The Applied Science of Dance Health and Injury Prevention.

Susan is Executive Director of the National Dance Education Organization and a national arts education consultant. Susan provides professional development in assisting teachers in designing and documenting student work that meets standards and in helping teaching artists understand educational reform efforts and how to make their work in schools more relevant to reform. She coaches districts in Los Angeles County as part of the Arts for All initiative and in Northern California in Alameda County as a part of the county’s initiative Revitalizing Classrooms Through Arts Learning: Strategic Plan. These initiatives provide strategic planning, technical support, curriculum development, assessments, survey development, and data collection. She supports districts in identifying local advocates and strategies for providing equity and access to the arts. Susan founded and directed the dance program at the renowned Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island from 1974-2002. Every student at the school participated in a program that treated dance as a core subject and emphasized the creating, performing and responding processes as they link to the arts and other disciplines. She is the developer of a cutting edge reading comprehension strategy that uses text as inspiration for original choreography created by children. In 1995, Susan was honored as the National Dance Teacher of the Year. Susan co-founded the Professional Development Institute (PDI), a partnership with Rhode Island College that offered teachers the dance education course work needed to obtain state dance certification. She also collaborated on developing and coordinating Alameda County’s Arts Integration Specialist Program (CA). Susan is the co-author of five books: Building Dances(1995), Building More Dances (2001), Experiencing Dance (2004), Dance About Anything (2006) and Exploring Dance Forms and Styles (2010). Susan teaches OPDI-112: Implementing the New National Core Dance Standards, OPDI-M1: Pedagogy - Learning Styles and Theories, OPDI-M3: Assessment Concepts, OPDI-M8: Designing Model Cornerstone Assessments.

Elizabeth McPherson, PhD is an associate professor at Montclair State University, and coordinator of the BA and MFA in Dance. Editor of The Bennington School of the Dance: A History in Writings and Interviews and author of The Contributions of Martha Hill to American Dance and Dance Education, she has written numerous articles for various publications such as Ballet Review, Dance Teacher Magazine, and The Journal of Dance Education and is the Executive Editor of the journal Dance Education in Practice. Elizabeth has been an educational consultant for the National Dance Education Organization, the New York City Department of Education, and the New Jersey Department of Education. She has staged numerous dance works from Labanotation including Doris Humphrey's Partita V and Antony Tudor's Continuo. Performance credits include: Avodah Dance Ensemble, Ernesta Corvino’s Dance Circle Company, and the Louis Johnson Dance Theatre Ensemble. She holds degrees from Juilliard, The City College of New York, and New York University. Elizabeth teaches OPDI-M22: Using Dance Pedagogic Content Knowledge to Drive Programmatic and Self Growth

Beth Megill, MFA in Dance, Language of Dance® Specialist, is a professor of dance at Moorpark College with a specialty in choreography, improvisation and dance notation. She founded a non-profit performing arts organization, Megill & Company (MeCo), in 2001 with her sister Heather and has produced four original musicals and eleven evening length dance programs. The mission of MeCo is to create dance works that are vibrant, quirky, meaningful, intellectual and entertaining. Megill regularly presents at California Dance Educators Association and National Dance Education Organization conferences exploring the many uses of the Language of Dance® Approach as well as larger themes of dance literacy and jazz dance pedagogy. She is founder of LAdancereview.org where she volunteers her time and expertise to support and celebrate Los Angeles based dance companies with reflective, dance literacy-based writing. She lives with her family in a charming niche of Ventura County. Beth teaches OPDI-119: Motif Notation Literacy through the Language of Dance® Approach: Your Move, Your Choreography and OPDI-M21: Building an Online Dance Course – Process, Product and Student Engagement

Lynn Monson trained at Hartford Ballet in Hartford, CT, completing their Teacher Training Certificate Program in 1975, after which she co-directed a branch school for Hartford Ballet. For over 30 years, she taught Ballet, Creative Movement, Modern, Jazz and Tap to all ages, pre-school to adults, at a variety of venues with a particular focus on creative movement for early childhood and elementary aged children. Lynn studied Labanotation at the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City and is a certified Labanotation teacher. Lynn completed a BA in Dance at Arizona State University and performed with the Thursday in the Dark Dance Co. For 11 years, she managed multiple campuses for Carmel Community Arts & Technology Charter School (K-12). Her responsibilities included developing the dance and integrated curriculum, conducting staff training, writing federal and state grants, directing school accountability, and teaching dance classes. Lynn also served as a trainer for the City of Phoenix Artspace program. Lynn was a member of the team that wrote the Performance Objectives for the Arizona Dance Standards in 1997. In 2005-06, she worked on the writing team to revise the Arizona Dance Standards and is currently working on developing state assessments for dance. Lynn is a member of the Dance Notation Bureau, International Council of Kinetography Laban, National Dance Education Organization, a board member of the Arizona Alliance for Arts Education, and served on the board of the Arizona Dance Arts Alliance. She was instrumental in the formation of the Arizona Dance Education Organization and has served as Secretary and President and is currently Executive Assistant. Lynn teaches OPDI-107: Creative Dance in Early Childhood and OPDI-M6: Introduction to Creative Dance for Early Childhood.

Nicole Perry is an intimacy choreographer, director, and choreographer in South Florida. Recent credits include Imagine: a Journey in Dance at the Kravis Center, and choreography and intimacy choreography for the US premiere of The Glass Piano at Theatre Lab. She is the resident intimacy choreographer at Measure for Measure Theatre. Nicole is a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst through Integrated Movement Studies. Her final project connected L/BMS concepts and vocabulary with Intimacy Choreography. Nicole provides guest teaching in Laban for Theatre and/or Dance, as well as Consent for Performers and Power Dynamics in the Rehearsal Room, through Momentum Stage. Nicole founded this non-profit to provide affordable resources for performing artists/teachers. Nicole teaches dance at the University of Miami and a public middle school. She is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Association of Theatre Movement Educators. She apprenticed with Intimacy Directors International. Nicole teaches OPDI-M23: Creating an Ethics and Pedagogy of Teaching with(out) Touch.

Naima Prevots has been performer, choreographer, teacher, critic, historian, administrator, and in 2019 was awarded NDEO’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Early in her career she performed with Merce Cunningham’s company in 1952 as a student at Brandeis University, in 1955 with Marie Marchowsky at Henry Street Playhouse, and later with Pola Nirenska’s Company in Washington, D.C. Naima’s choreography was commissioned by Princeton Ballet, and the Jewish Community Centers in Maryland and Washington, and in the 1960s she co-founded Dimensions Dance Company, performing and choreographing in many venues. She is Professor Emerita, American University, where from 1967 until retirement in 2003 she helped found the Department of Performing Arts, serving as Director of Dance and Chair of the Department. From 1971 to 1983 she created a summer program at the university, bringing in companies of Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Murray Louis, Erick Hawkins, Don Redlich, and many others to teach for students and teachers who came from all over nationally and internationally, and to perform for large Washington audiences. As a critic and historian she has written numerous articles, reviews, monographs, and has published three books: Dancing in the Sun, Hollywood Choreographers 1915-1937; American Pageantry: A Movement for Art and Democracy; Dance for Export: Cultural Diplomacy and the Cold War. She has served on the boards of many organizations including CORD; SDHS; NDEO; ADG; Fulbright Association, and has been consultant for both National Endowment for the Arts and for the Humanities and the Arts and Humanities Councils of Washington and California. Her consulting includes working in Israel, where she helped develop the High School dance programs. As an arts educator she was designated an Artist in the Schools and was on the staff of PROJECT CAREL, one of the first government supported efforts to bring dance and the other arts into the schools. As the recipient of six Fulbright Fellowships, she worked in Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, Portugal, and Germany. Naima has been teaching in NDEO's OPDI program since 2012, and created the current course in 2021.

Lori earned her master’s degree in Dance Education from New York University with a concentration in American Ballet Theatre (ABT) ballet pedagogy. While studying in the program, Lori received her certification in ABT’s National Training Curriculum (NTC) Levels Primary thru Level 7 and partnering. She has implemented the ABT curriculum into several teaching environments to include private studios, middle schools and high schools, as well as conservatory, pre-collegiate, and university dance programs. In 2012, Lori presented research on a panel at NDEO’s national conference on integrating the NTC into a university dance course. She currently teaches for Towson University and has worked as Manager of the Towson Community Dance at the Owings Mills JCC Community Center program and Dance Company Manager for the Towson University Dance Company, as well as adjunct professor and Towson University Community Dance instructor. Along with her work as an educator in the field, Lori also served the National Dance Education Organization as a staff member in Special Projects and as a board member for the Capital Region Educators of Dance Organization (CREDO). Lori developed and currently teaches NDEO's OPDI-M7 course: Ballet Theory & Composition.

Dr. Doug Risner is Professor of Dance, Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Wayne State University where he teaches courses in dance history, pedagogy, research design and methodology, dance professions, artistic praxis, and principles of teaching artistry. His research focuses on social issues and gender in dance, curriculum design and pedagogy, dance in higher education, and online learning. He is widely published throughout the U.S. and internationally in Research in Dance Education, International Journal of Education & the Arts, Journal of Dance Education, Arts Education Policy Review, Teaching Artist Journal, and Dance: Current Selected Research. His books include Stigma & Perseverance in the Lives of Boys Who Dance (2009), Hybrid Lives of Teaching Artists in Dance and Theatre Arts: A Critical Reader (2014), Gender, Sexuality and Identity: Critical Issues in Dance Education (2015), Dance and Gender: An Evidenced-Based Approach (2017), Ethical Dilemmas in Dance Education: Case Studies on Humanizing Dance Pedagogy (2020). His forthcoming book, Masculinity, Intersectionality and Identity: Why Boys (Don’t) Dance (2021). His service and teaching have been honored with awards from his alma mater, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award and Faculty Mentoring Award from Wayne State University, and NDEO Visionary Award and NDEO Outstanding Dance Education Researcher Award. Risner is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus (2004-2012) of Journal of Dance Education, and Associate Editor, Research in Dance Education. Risner is a senior program consultant for NDEO’s Online Professional Development Institute. Doug teaches OPDI-102: Dance History 1800 to Present, OPDI-105: Introduction to Dance Education Research, OPDI-113: Foundations of Dance Pedagogy, and OPDI-121: Ethical Dilemmas in Dance Education.

Dale Schmid, Ed.D. is an independent consultant/researcher and former Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator for the New Jersey Department of Education (1999 to 2021). He is a recognized authority on student learning standards, standards-based assessment, programmatic evaluation, and educational policy. As one of approximately 55 state arts education directors throughout the nation, he helped shape state and national standards-based arts education policy and practice; and oversaw the review and revision of every set of New Jersey Student Learning Standards in the Visual and Performing Arts since their inception. Dr. Schmid has held numerous state and national leadership roles including President and three-term Past-President of the National Dance Education Organization; and President of the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE). Additionally, Dr. Schmid is co-facilitator of the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) and senior advisor to Dance Entry Level Teacher Assessment (DELTA) initiative; a national endeavor to codify dance teacher training and support pedagogic content knowledge in dance education. Schmid holds a Doctorate in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania with a dissertation in the field of psychometrics; a Master’s Degree in Education from Temple University; and undergraduate degrees in Speech and Theatre, and Health & Physical Education from Bemidji State University. He also spent several decades on the national touring circuit as a dancer, actor, and sometime musician.

Marty Sprague has over 45 years of experience in dance education (early childhood through higher education), holds an MA, in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BFA in Dance from Boston Conservatory. She has been involved in program, curriculum, professional, and policy development. She has written and reviewed standards at the district, state and national levels. Marty is co-author, with Helene Scheff and Susan McGreevy-Nichols, of six dance text and resource books (including online content for the textbook). Marty has served on the editorial board for Arts Education Policy Review and JODE. She served on the Dance Writing Team for the NCCAS Dance Standards. Currently, Marty is a course writer and an instructor for NDEO’s OPDI, a Moving For Life Certified Instructor (pending), and is President of Dance Alliance of RI. She has joined the Rhode Island Arts and Health Network Steering Committee to advance the role of Arts in the well-being of all Rhode Islanders. Marty teaches OPDI-112 Implementing the National Core Arts Standards in Dance; OPDI-115: Dance Integration: Re-envisioning the Creative Process; OPDI-M13: Modern Dance Theory and Composition; OPDI-M18: Intro to Choreography in Dance Education: A Process to Teach Students How to Create Dances, and OPDI-M19: Dance Stagecraft and Production.

Ms. Stevens coordinates education programs and marketing at Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Health. Previously, she worked as a professional ballet dancer in companies including Norwegian National Ballet and BalletMet Columbus. She is now on faculty at the American Ballet Theatre’s JKO School Children’s Division and is a Teaching Artist for the New York City Ballet. She holds a master’s degree in arts administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. Kristen teaches OPDI-116: Harkness Center for Dance Injuries: The Applied Science of Dancer Health and Injury Prevention.

Sandi Stratton-Gonzalez, MA taught dance to children with special needs in inclusion and self-contained classrooms for over 20 years at PS 372 in Brooklyn. Recently retired, she is now the Coordinator of the Arnhold Support Programs for Dance Educators at the Office of Arts and Special Projects in NYC. Sandi is a professional development facilitator with the Arts for Students with Disabilities Team (NYC DOE) and is the Advocacy Director for the NYS Dance Education Association. A member of NDEO since 2005, Sandi is a founding member of the NDEO Dance and Disabilities Task Force, whose goal is to increase the organization’s capacity to support the dance and disability community and to pave the way for more inclusive membership and representation. She is co-author (with C. Gallant and D. Duggan) of Dance Education for Diverse Learners: A Special Education Supplement to the Dance Blueprint and has been published in Dance: Current Selected Research Volume 7 and Dance Education in Practice, where she is a member of the Editorial Board. Sandi was an adjunct Professor at Hofstra University from 2008-2018, teaching Dance in Elementary Education. Prior to teaching full-time Sandi was the founding Artistic Director of Soundance Repertory Company (1984-1999), and her choreography has been presented throughout the Northeast. Sandi teaches OPDI-114: Teaching Dance to Students with Disabilities.

Pat Taylor, MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, is the artistic director/choreographer of Los Angeles-based JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble, which she founded in 1993 to celebrate the jazz tradition as a vital thread in the cultural fabric of African American history and heritage and a defining element of the American experience. Her work has been presented at the Music Center of Los Angeles County, Hollywood Bowl/Playboy Jazz Festival, The Southern Theatre (Minneapolis), Glashuset (Stockholm, Sweden) and CIAEI Theater (Indaiatuba, Brazil), among many other venues. Her recognitions include a Brody Arts Fund Choreography Fellowship and grant awards from Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions and the Center for Cultural Innovation. Pat teaches and choreographs across the United States and internationally, most recently as Lecturer in Jazz Dance at Peabody Conservatory / Johns Hopkins University and California State University Long Beach, and guest choreographer for University of Idaho and Salve Regina University. She is a contributing chapter author for the upcoming jazz textbook “Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century,” University Press of Florida.

Margot is a visionary leader who works at the intersection of SEL, arts, and physical education. In 2006, Margot developed Dancing with Class, now a highly sought-after program delivered in 100+ schools each year. In 2014, Margot celebrated the publication of JITTERBUGS!, a dance-along children’s book, and in 2018, she launched EduMotion: SEL Journeys, a digital platform that delivers SEL-themed movement activities inspired by world dances. Margot is a dynamic presenter who frequently appears at conferences related to SEL, arts, and physical education. A graduate of Northwestern University, she recently completed Kellogg’s Non-Profit Executive Scholars program, with a focus on innovation and leadership. In 2018, Margot began serving as a member of the SHAPE America Task Force on SEL in Health and Physical Education. She also serves on the Partnerships and Professional Learning Panel for Ingenuity, a leader in arts education advocacy and research. Most recently, Margot became a founding member of CASEL’s SEL Providers Council. As a dancer, Margot has enjoyed an extensive teaching and performing career. She has danced live on stage with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and is a featured instructor as part of the City of Chicago’s SummerDance series. Her choreography has been featured twice in Dance Chicago and she has a number of screen credits including “The Road to Perdition.” Margot teaches OPDI-M21: Incorporating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in Dance Curriculum.

Christopher Van Houten (They or He) studied and taught intersections of performance, pedagogy, community empowerment, embodiment, and social justice at Northwestern University. They served on the board of Dancing With Class, a Chicago-based organization that teaches young people social and emotional skills through social dance, as lead teaching artist for 15 years. They were the artistic director of the organization’s scholarship team that brought students together from different communities across Chicago through the joys of ballroom, Latin, and swing dance. They helped design SEL Journeys, an interactive classroom tool that integrates dance and social-emotional learning through culturally relevant content. They have also taught, performed, emceed, and traveled as a dance artist specializing in Brazilian zouk, West Coast swing, and hustle at major events across the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands. Their professional dance work has focused on genderfluid expression and connection in partner dancing. Their newest adventure is transitioning to the middle school social studies classroom, where they hope to integrate principles of ecosomatics and mindful movement to improve classroom climate and help adolescents find their place in an increasingly complex world.