Visionary senior program director, dancer, choreographer, educator, and notary public with 15 years of experience in arts education and non-profit organizations. Extensive background in senior project management, grants administration, and arts program development. Administrative and artistic work rooted in DEI, culturally responsive pedagogy, and social justice to bridge communities of color through art. Over 25 years of dance training and performance experience in several world dance forms. Develops and presents full-length cross-cultural, educational, and multidisciplinary productions and curricula.
Career Highlights & Accomplishments
Senior Program Director
Interim Executive Director
Arts Horizons
2016-Present
Managed annual portfolio of 200+ arts programs and a diverse roster of 100+ teaching artists & performing groups
Secured $400,000+ of grant-based programs through NYC city agencies & several corporations
Developed innovative arts education programs centering culturally responsive pedagogy, linguistic diversity, wellness, & social justice
Bolstered board involvement through initiatives for organizational restructuring, consultant contracting, & debt reduction
Set yearly organizational budget, assessing quarterly goals, and leading strategic planning for capacity building and expansion
Co-founder
Artistic Director
Daya Arts
2017-Present
Established in 2017 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to bridge diasporic communities of color through cross-cultural and educative artistic productions rooted in West African and South Asian visual and performing arts
Organized two sold-out showcases of South Asian LGBTQI+ artists at BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance and produced three evening-length dance-theater works
Raised $15,000+ towards public events, charitable donations, & artistic productions
Adjunct Dance Faculty
Marymount Manhattan College
2020-2021
Introduced third-year dance majors to technical, aesthetic, and cultural aspects of Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance) with direction applications to their own practice
Designed novel exercises with composer Moira Lo Bianco to hone musicality through non-Western choreographic and musical structures
Mentored several final-year students for their final choreographic projects and provided teaching artist training
Teaching Artist
NYC Public & Charter Schools
2015-Present
Specialized in arts education residencies integrating science, reading comprehension, poetry, & Indian classical dance
Focused on providing culturally-responsive programs to diverse and underserved student populations in public & charter schools located in Bronx, Brooklyn, & Queens
Languages
English (Native/Bilingual Fluency)
Tamil (Native/Bilingual Fluency)
Spanish (Full Professional Proficiency)
French (Professional Working Proficiency)
Skills
Adobe Creative Suite
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, & Acrobat DC
Microsoft Office Suite
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, & Access
Industry-Specific Apps
Blackboard, Canva, OpenTable, MindBody, & SPSS
Affiliations
Advisory Board Member (2023-Present)
Berrie Center @ Ramapo College of New Jersey
Committee Member (2019-2022)
DEI Working Group, Kennedy Center
Certifications
Notary Public (Valid until 2027)
State of New Jersey
Affirming LGBTQIA+ Identities in Schools (2023)
New Jersey Division of Civil Rights
Non-Profit Organizational Capacity Building (2023)
New York City Council
Incubator for Arts & Culture Leaders of Color (2022)
New York Foundation for the Arts