<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34, 34, 34);font-family:&quot;Roboto Condensed&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:0.9rem;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.45rem;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-rendering:optimizelegibility;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;">Elizabeth Kattner, Ph.D </strong>holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a Master of Music in Dance from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and a Ph.D. in Humanities from the Free University Berlin. She is a Professor of Dance at Oakland University and serves as Associate Director for the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, coordinating assessment and accreditation for all three departments. She is also coordinator of the K-12 Dance Education program. Prior to coming to Oakland, Dr. Kattner taught Dance, Choreography, Dance Education, Pedagogy, Dance Studies, Study Abroad in Germany, and Dance History at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, the Free University Berlin, and the University of Michigan-Flint. She danced professional both in the US and in Europe and is an active choreographer. Her work has been presented at American College Dance Festiva Association, the Uferstudios Center for Contemporary Dance Berlin, the Detroit Dance City Festival, as well as in many of venues. She serves as ballet master for the staging of classical ballets like <em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i>Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, </i></em>and<em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i> Coppélia </i></em>for colleges as well as private coaching and mentoring for high school ballet dancers.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34, 34, 34);font-family:&quot;Roboto Condensed&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:0.9rem;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.45rem;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-rendering:optimizelegibility;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i>&nbsp;</i></em>In addition to creating the curriculum for Michigan’s only K-12 Dance Education program, she has given professional development workshops for K-12 teachers at Michigan Dance Festival, SHAPE Michigan, Baltimore County Schools, and for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. She is active in Dance Education research and hosted a National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) special topics conference<em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i>, What Can Data Do for You? </i></em>in February 2024. She is part of the planning committee for the NDEO Annual Conference which will take place in Detroit in October 2025. She has served on the board of Michigan Dance Council, the state affiliate of NDEO, for the past 11 years and is one of the main coordinators of the annual high school Michigan Youth Dance Festival, a Michigan Dance Council, Oakland University, and University of Michigan collaboration. For the past several years she has been active in advocating for K-12 Dance Education in Michigan as well as throughout the US.</p>

<p>Melissa's dance journey began at age six in Houston, Texas. She honed her skills taking classes at various local studios, performing in several companies, and participating all four years in her high school's dance program as a student, leader, choreographer, and performer. These experiences fueled her passion for dance&nbsp;and the belief that everyone deserves an opportunity to dance. Melissa earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin and began her corporate career at Procter &amp; Gamble which spanned thirteen successful years, focusing on sales, business development, marketing, and brand management. Amid her corporate accomplishments, Melissa maintained her love of dance taking adults classes when possible. After P&amp;G, she continued to build her marketing and business development skills with several other companies. In 2006, she had the opportunity to study dance full time at the collegiate level at the University of Maryland College Park. It was here that she was introduced to the National Dance Education Organization and realized she could merge her business acumen with her passion for dance. She joined NDEO part-time in 2007 as the first ever NDEO Director of Marketing and Membership. Over the years, as the organization grew, her role expanded to include honor society programs, board initiatives, and online course development. Becoming Managing Director (full-time) in 2017, she now oversees NDEO internal operations of all programs and services. She/Her/Hers.</p>