Daniel holds a master’s degree in Education from New York University and has pioneered the use of shadow puppetry in diverse formal and informal educational settings around the world. He leads residencies for students K-8, presents workshops for teachers Pre-K to 12, and as the Director of Firelight Shadow Theater, conducts assembly programs of best-loved folktales from around the world. He has been a National Teaching Artist with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since 2010.

Garrett Brown, a national teaching artist, specializes in cartooning, illustration, and sequential art (comic books). Powered by a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Missouri Kansas City and a Master's in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri St. Louis, he combines over a decade of experience as an Art Specialist with a deep understanding of classroom dynamics. Based in Kansas City with his family, Garrett crafts engaging projects that resonate with both students and educators alike.

Harlan has worked in the field of arts integration for 40 years. He leads residencies for students K-12, presents workshops for teachers, and has led training seminars for teaching artists nationwide. Since 2002, Harlan has been a National Teaching Artist with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Harlan specializes in the integration of STEM curriculum with creative movement and dance. He holds a BFA in dance and a MA in Educational Research and Psychology.

Jamin is an educator, activist, artist, and minister who holds a BFA in sculpture and painting and a MAT in visual art education. As a public school teacher he has worked in several diverse, Title One classrooms ranging from elementary art to high school studio art and AP art history. Jamin is a national Kennedy Center teaching artist and leads visual art and drama-based workshops in schools, museums, and arts centers across the country. As an artist, he participates in exhibitions, facilitates panel discussions, and occasionally curates shows.

Lorena Cervantes has been a Dance Integration teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools for over a decade. She is a national workshop leader for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and a professional dancer.

Lorena was a professor of dance at the National University of Costa Rica, and the director of the National Dance Company. She has a MFA in dance and was a Master Artist for the Wolf Trap Institute Early Learning through the Arts program.

Ryan Conarro is a creative producer, interdisciplinary artist, and educator based in Denver. He performs with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Third Rail Projects and partners with Youth on Record as a Media Arts Partner Artist. Ryan co-directs Colorado Radio for Justice, a platform by and for people impacted by the criminal-legal system. His career bridges performance, media, and education, with a focus on community collaboration, arts integration, and creative justice initiatives nationwide.

Imani is a professional world/jazz vocalist, National Kennedy Center teaching artist, and children’s author. Her voice is featured on many of the National Geographic Television’s Explorer Series soundtracks. Imani has taught in the DC public school system and in private schools as a traditional world music teacher. She has had the honor of performing, touring, and recording with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for eight consecutive years. She has written two children’s world books entitled, Dhimiki and Iyipo Aye.

Dr. Ryan Hourigan is a professor of music education at Ball State University. Hourigan is the co-author (Alice Hammel) of Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs: A Label-free Approach, as well as the book Teaching Music to Students with Autism. In 2009, Hourigan co-founded the Prism Project (prismprojectbsu.org). This program provides an opportunity for Ball State students to gain skills teaching students with exceptionalities.

A professional Theatre for Youth director, actor and John F. Kennedy Center National Teaching Artist, Kassie received her MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences from ASU and in 2008, Kassie founded Trike Theatre: Northwest Arkansas’ professional theatre for youth and families. For the past 20 years, she has been implementing arts integration residencies, coaching teachers, and training teaching artists.

Jason Nious’ background with high school step teams and NCAA gymnastics set the stage for him to perform extensively with Cirque du Soleil, Usher, Stomp, Step Afrika, and numerous theatre and film productions throughout his career. Currently he is an Artist in Residence with the International Museum of Dance. Jason is the founder and director of Molodi, an award winning body percussion ensemble. Molodi's arts education program, reaches over 20,000 students per year.

As a movement artist, Tanesha Payne (she/they) performs, creates, educates, and advocates for all things dance. Tanesha is the founder and artistic director of sumRset Movement, a professional contemporary dance company based in San Antonio, TX. She holds a BFA in Dance Studies from Texas State University and earned her MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Her journey merges academic insight with lived experience, shaping both her creative and educational practices.

As a teaching artist with over 10 years of experience—and a certified Wolf Trap Teaching Artist—Tanesha is passionate about making dance approachable, joyful, and meaningful. She specializes in using movement to support early literacy, self-expression, and connection across communities. Whether in classrooms, theaters, or public spaces, Tanesha creates inclusive environments where movers of all backgrounds feel seen, empowered, and inspired to move with purpose.

Maria, a Brazilian-born educator and artist, specializes in Theatre of the Oppressed and has taught at Harvard Extension, Lesley University, and the American Repertory Theater. She developed gallery classes for immigrants at Harvard Art Museums and managed Arts Integration for Any Given Child Sarasota. A seasoned improviser, she studied at AMDA in NYC and holds a master’s in Intercultural Relations and Arts for Social Change from Lesley University.

Visual artist/ sculptor, Kay Thomas, holds a BFA and MFA in ceramics and is a national teaching artist with Focus 5 and the Kennedy Center. With over 35 years of experience in art integration, Kay is a designer/presenter of integrated arts experiences for students and teachers that guide participants in translating concepts from the curriculum into visual works of art. Teachers learn how they can actively teach objectives by using a student created art product.

For years, Sam Tidwell was a classroom teacher at a Kennedy Center Turnaround Arts school in California. Rooted in his teaching experience, Sam's primary directive as a teaching artist is to help his students grow and learn in an engaging, healing, and rigorous way. Nationally, he trains schools in behavior literacy and the arts through Acting Right and his residency Academic Songwriting. He also founded Avatar Arts and runs art classes in his hometown.

Morgan was an elementary classroom teacher for 14 years in a John F. Kennedy Center CETA (Changing Education Through the Arts) school in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Taking her expertise in integrating the arts into her classroom and collaborating with teachers throughout her school, she is now a consultant to educators and leaders across the nation.

Morgan received her Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Human Development from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL and her master’s in Elementary Education from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Trained in traditional arts and dance in her native Osaka, Japan, origami artist Kuniko Yamamoto has lived in Florida since 1992.

Kuniko received national exposure performing Japanese Storytelling at the Silk Road International Exposition and on Kansai National TV in 1985. Over the last three decades she has presented her programs throughout the United States. She received the Tempo Award from Origami USA in 2007. As a passionate artist and teacher, Kuniko opened Origami Air Art Studio in 2017.