Arts Schools Network 2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Please scroll down for Board of Directors brief bios

R. Scott Allen, Ph.D. is the principal of Houston ISD's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Scott earned his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Theatre with an emphasis in Directing from Texas State University in San Marcos and a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. He also earned a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University. His dissertation title was Fine Arts and Student Academic Success in Texas: A Critical Examination.  Scott's background includes theatre work in New York and community theatre throughout Texas. He has been a high school classroom teacher in the areas of Speech, Theatre, Oral Interpretation, Radio/Television/Film, and English. He has also served as an assistant principal and principal at the elementary level.  He worked at the Region 4 Education Service Center training aspiring principals for a year before coming to HSPVA.

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Bill Barrett has served as Executive Director of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD), since 1994.  Prior to joining AICAD, Barrett was president of San Francisco Art Institute (1987-1994) and Dean at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC (1981-1987).  And before that he was at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City (1970-1981) in various administrative positions, ultimately serving as Assistant Dean.

Bill has a BFA in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design and an MA in Higher Education from New York University.  He is a Past President and a Life Fellow of NASAD, the art and design accrediting body, has chaired a dozen accreditation visiting teams, served on numerous NASAD and CAA conference panels, and been a consultant to a half dozen art schools.  Over the past 39 years he has developed a keen interest in the history, structures, functioning, evolution, and well being of independent art schools.

Currently he is a trustee of the Oxbow School in Napa, CA, Treasurer of the Arts Schools Network, and a representative to the Secretariat of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Washington.

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Kim Bruno ...Coming Soon

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Craig Collins has served as a principal for twelve years, having both elementary and secondary experience, and is in his seventh year at Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland, FL. He obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Florida, where he earned the performer's certificate in saxophone and was a member of Florida Blue Key Honor Fraternity. He holds a master's in educational leadership from the University of South Florida, where he is currently pursuing doctoral studies.

Memberships include the Association of School Based Administrators, Florida Association of School Administrators, National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Florida Bandmasters Association. In addition to his responsibilities with Network, he serves as president of the Florida Network of Arts Administrators.  

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Jackie Cornelius, Jackie Cornelius is Executive Director of Fine Arts for the Duval County School District (Jacksonville, Fl), which serves over 124,000 students. She also is principal of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (DA) and has served as a nationally recognized arts education advocate and presenter for decades.  Her charge at DA is to provide intensive arts education to talented, passionate students and implement quality arts professional development for teachers district wide.
 
Over the years, Ms. Cornelius has spearheaded numerous financial campaigns to underwrite critically needed arts funding; one such campaign successfully netted over 13 million in state funding for DA, while another secured a half million in private funding which underwrote the purchase of arts instruments, equipment and guest artist programs. She recently implemented a pilot collaboration program among the seven district specialized arts schools and last August the district was awarded a federal arts professional development grant of one million.
 
Ms. Cornelius is an active community participant… currently serving as a trustee for the Jacksonville Community Music School, as a board member of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and as a member of Jacksonville’s Public Arts Commission Board of Directors. She is a Downtown Jacksonville Rotary member and Leadership Jacksonville Alumni, ’92.
 
She has served on numerous arts and community boards: the Jacksonville Women’s Network, the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women, the Gateway Girl Scout Council, the Mayor’s Insight Committee, the Jacksonville Symphony Education Committee, and Youth Leadership Jacksonville. She is a Past President of Uptown Civitans, First Coast Business & Professional Women’s Club, and the International NETWORK of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education, and is a Past Director of the BPW Florida Education Foundation.
 
Under Ms. Cornelius’s leadership, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts has received many national and state awards: DA recently was declared a Grammy Gold Signature School; a Florida Distinguished School, a Best Academic High School by Newsweek, a 2009 U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools in America Gold Medal School and a 2008 Exemplary School by the International NETWORK of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education. DA is a National Essentially Duke Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition winner and its theatre department has performed at the prestigious Edinburgh, Scotland Mini Fringe Arts Festival.
 
She has been awarded: the University of Florida’s Distinguished Principal Award; the Florida Times Union News Eve Award; the Florida Alliance for Arts Education Leadership Award; the Florida Association of Administrators 2008 Arts Administrator of the Year Award; the Florida State Thespians 2009 Administrator of the Year Award for Outstanding Leadership; the Jacksonville Arts Assembly Outstanding Arts Educator Award; the Gateway Girl Scout Council Woman of Distinction Award; the Florida Association of Theatre Educators 2008 Outstanding Administrator of the Year and the Duval Arts Teachers’ Association Outstanding Principal of the Year Award.

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Dr. Denise Davis Cotton, a Milken Foundation internationally recognized educator, has made a historic contribution to Detroit’s educational and cultural renaissance as the principal and founder of Detroit School of Arts (DSA). In June 2006, she was awarded Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit News.  Her dream of teaching performing arts to inner-city school children evolved to the founding of what many believe will become an icon of cultural education throughout the country. Through Dr. Cotton’s leadership, DSA provides an environment where academics and arts are not only recognized, but also revered. DSA has gained AYP status and is recognized as a bronze medal school by Newsweek magazine. As a result of her vision, DSA provides a strong comprehensive arts education program that is dedicated to serving academically and artistically talented students who seek specialized training through a performing arts school within a college preparatory academic environment. Every senior receives scholarships! Since the first class graduated in 1996, DSA students have earned over $150,500,000 in scholarships!
 
Dr. Davis-Cotton currently serves as President of Arts Schools Network, an organization servicing over 350 arts schools.  She is an advocate for arts integration and arts inclusion along the K-12 academic continuum. She, along with a Detroit Public School principal, developed a Business Entertainment Curriculum for her students. This curriculum unites arts with workforce development opportunities in order for students to interact with corporate, cultural, collegiate, and community institutions. These students are prepared to enter multiple aspects of the Entertainment Industry and other professional arenas upon completion of high school.

Notable DSA graduates include the late singer/actress, Aaliyah (’97), recording artist Teairra Marie (’06) and Broadway sensation and Tony nominee, Celia Keenan-Bolger (’96) Awards and citations for Dr. Davis-Cotton are too numerous to list individually. DSA is a Blue Ribbon School and received the Kennedy Center Creative Ticket National School of Distinction Award. Dr. Davis-Cotton earned doctorate from Wayne State University, a master’s from the University of Montevallo, and a bachelor’s of science from Alabama State University.

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Patricia Decker is the Director of Recruitment at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She started her career at Tisch in the Department of Undergraduate Drama, first as the Internship Coordinator, then as the Coordinator of the Summer High School Drama Program. After that she served as Manager of Admissions and Applicant Services for ten years.

Patricia is also a writer, performer and producer who has worked in both Philadelphia and New York. Philadelphia: Wilma Theatre, The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Big Mess Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet. New York: Manhattan Theatre Club, Theatre Communications Group, Teleotheater, SPF. She has performed her own work at Dixon Place, CB's Gallery and Cornelia Street Café. Patricia serves on the board of directors of Rabbit Hole Ensemble. She is also an accomplished Tarot card reader. BA in Theatre from Temple University.

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Dorothy Marshall Englis is Chair of the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University, where she is a full professor and recipient of both the Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellent in Teaching. A member of United Scenic Artists, he has been associated with The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis since 1979, where she has designed costumes for over 30 productions in addition to scenery and costumes for many Imaginary Theatre Company touring shows. Dottie has also designed costumes for Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis and Stages, St. Louis productions. She was previously the President of the Webster University Faculty Senate and the Director of Webster University’s campus in London, England.  Dottie holds her BA in Drama and English from Tufts University and her MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie-Mellon University.

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David A. Flatley, Executive Director of the Center for Community Arts Partnerships (CCAP) at Columbia College Chicago, has over fifteen years experience in developing and implementing educational and intercultural initiatives designed to improve teacher practice and student achievement, and affect whole-school change.  His work supports both national and international groups—including the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Educational Authority as they work to replicate the arts integration model developed by David and his team through the Chicago Teacher’s Center in the 90s.  This relationship is now being transferred and formalized through Columbia.  He was instrumental in advancing the work of arts integration in the city through his work with the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) and the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. 

Prior to delving into arts education, he worked in development and management with the Cincinnati Ballet, the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, and Pegasus Players Theatre in Chicago.  He has an M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois-Champaign.  David received his practitioner’s certification in intercultural communications through the Intercultural Communications Institute in Portland, Oregon in 2001. 

David currently serves on the Americans for the Arts’ Arts Education Council, the Illinois Federation for Community Schools Board, the Arts Schools Network Board, and the CAPE Advisory Board.  He is a jazz pianist and writer.  He learned French while living in Brussels, Belgium for nearly four years, where he taught English, directed theatre, and played piano for the three American Embassies.

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Dr. Roy S. Fluhrer, Director of Greenville County School District’s Fine Arts Center since 1989, received his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

He served as Managing and Artistic Director of The Toledo Repertoire Theatre from 1966 to1978.  From 1978 to 1988 he was on the faculty at the University of Idaho, serving as Chair of the Theatre Department, president of the Faculty Senate, founder of the Idaho Repertoire Theatre and, from 1985 to 1988 as an assistant to the President of the University.  In 1988 he was named Vice Chancellor for Arts and Academics at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Dr. Fluhrer came to Greenville in 1989 as the Director of The Fine Arts Center, South Carolina’s first school for the gifted and talented in the literary, visual and performing arts.  He has served as president of the South Carolina Arts Alliance, where he continues on the board.  He is currently serving as the immediate past President of Arts Schools NETWORK. Dr. Fluhrer was awarded the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award in 2008, South Carolina’s highest arts award, the Winthrop University Medal of Honor in the Arts in 2006, the South Carolina Dance Association Dance Advocacy Aware in 2006, the Metropolitan Arts Council Visionary Award in 2004, and the Arts Advocate of the Year by the South Carolina Art Education Association in 2000.  He was the recipient of Arts Schools Network’s Jeffrey Lawrence Award in 2008.

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Donn K. Harris was appointed as the Executive Director of the Oakland School for the Arts by former California governor Jerry Brown in November 2007. Prior to that, Donn had been the principal of the renowned San Francisco School of the Arts for seven years. He holds an M.A. in Theater Arts from California State University at Los Angeles, and teaching credentials in English, Drama and Special Education with an emphasis on students with emotional disturbance. Donn has taught in diverse environments ranging from high performing schools to incarcerated youth in juvenile hall. He has also been part of many innovative educational initiatives, including outdoor education programs for at-risk youth and the development of a high school teaching academy.

Donn first became a school administrator in 1994 when he was appointed Dean of Students at Galileo High School in San Francisco. He received his administrative credentials from San Francisco State University and through advanced training with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). He has been a guest lecturer in the administrative training programs at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Donn also serves as the advisory board chair for the East Bay International Youth Film Festival. In 2006, he became the founding principal of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in San Francisco, an alternative arts-focused school that brings high-level arts programs to inner city youth.

An Air Force veteran, passionate traveler and firm believer in the power of the arts to inspire creativity and innovation in all areas of life, Donn comes to the Arts School Network board with great enthusiasm for making an impact on the national dialogue around educational reform.

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Dr. Suzy Highland, Academic Counselor at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) has served as a certified school counselor and a licensed professional counselor in public and private schools her entire career. After earning her doctorate from Auburn University in 1988, she designed and implemented an alternative high school program in Montgomery, Alabama. The following year she became the first counselor at a magnet arts high school, the Carver Creative and Performing Arts Center and later facilitated change as CCPAC evolved into Booker T Washington Magnet High School, a comprehensive full day arts high school, which is still viable today.

In 2000 she became the Dean of Student Services at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a regional arts center for talented students in Louisiana. At NOCCA, Dr. Highland has supervised the student services and instructional programs, helped fine tune the application/audition process and has guided the growth of after school, Saturday and summer programs. As Academic Counselor, she serves students from over 150 schools in 13 parishes who attend during the school year and helps direct the summer arts day and residential programs for students statewide. She is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, the Louisiana Association of School Executives and has been an active Network participant since 1990.

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Pamela Jordan joined Chicago Academy for the Arts (CAA) in 1990. Over the years, she moved through the ranks from Music Department Chair to Principal. In 2002, Jordan was appointed to her current position, Head of School.

Jordan is establishing CAA as the premiere independent arts high school in the State of Illinois. CAA was the only school in Illinois to receive the 2005 Creative Ticket Award for Excellence from the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education. And in 2006, CAA became the only independent arts high school in the nation to be designated a National School of Distinction by the John F. Kennedy Center’s Alliance for the Arts Education Network. 

Jordan holds a Bachelor of Music from Phillips University and a Master of Education from Northeastern Illinois University. Currently, she serves as a resource panelist for the School of the Arts, Singapore, is an officer on the board of directors of the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and is on faculty of the Institute for New Heads of School with the National Association of Independent Schools. Additionally, Jordan serves as President of the Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools.
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Carol Kim is the Dean of Enrollment Management at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) where she oversees the office of Admissions, Financial Aid and Registrar. Before joining the CalArts community, she was the Director of Recruitment at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Ms. Kim has over 14 years of experience in college admissions and financial aid both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and she has presented at several national conferences about the college selection process.

Kim comes from a dance background. She has performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City; was a member of Antigravity (a gymnastics and dance performance company); and has competed nationally and internationally as a rhythmic gymnast. She was also invited to and trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Kim attended LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in NYC and received her bachelors and masters degrees from New York University. In 2008, she was selected to participate in Harvard School of Graduate Education's Institute for Management and Leadership in Education.

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Mary Martha Lappe has over four decades experience in public education and the arts. She has chaired Dance Programs at James Madison University, Louisiana State University and the University of Houston. In 1971, she left the faculty at University of Houston to help start Houston's School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She remained at HSPVA where she chaired the Department of Dance for 25 years. In 1997, she became the first Executive Director of HSPVA Friends, a private, nonprofit organization.

In the past few years, under Mrs. Lappe's direction, HSPVA Friends has raised over $5 million in private support for young artists in the Greater Houston Area and special arts projects at HSPVA. Her accolades in the arts and education include: The National Distinguished Teacher of the Arts, The Coca-Cola Foundation Outstanding Teacher, the Presidential Distinguished Teacher Award four times, The Outstanding High School Teacher in Texas, HSPVA’s Distinguished Artist, and the Texas Woman’s University’s Distinguished Alumna. She is a Founding Director of the Arts Schools Network.

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William Lowman is the President of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation. Bill Lowman-educator, administrator, musician and patron of the arts-has devoted his entire professional career to promoting the arts and arts education to students nationally and globally.  As Headmaster of Idyllwild Arts, he has combined his talents as a cultural leader and fundraiser to bring acclaim to both the Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program, (formerly known as the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts.)  Lowman’s efforts have secured a highly regarded position for Idyllwild Arts Academy as one of only three independent boarding schools for the arts in the US.  The school is routinely ranked in the top two among several hundred arts high schools in the country.  Similarly, his leadership of the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program (which celebrated its 60th summer in 2009) has ensured that students of all ages, abilities and economic backgrounds have the opportunity for challenging and enriching educational experiences in the arts.

 
The unique summer arts program brings together students of all ages, offering more than 85 short but intensive arts programs each summer for children, youth, adults and families at the beautiful Idyllwild Arts campus in the forested San Jacinto Mountains.   Upon his appointment in 1985, Lowman strengthened the summer administrative leadership, recruited outstanding artist teachers and improved the financial operation of this innovative and important cultural resource.                 
 
While strengthening the traditional Idyllwild Arts Summer Program, Lowman founded the Idyllwild Arts Academy, the only independent, boarding high school for the arts west of the Mississippi.  The Academy opened with 80 students in 1986 and a remarkably innovative curriculum in music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and creative writing.  He selected a highly competent artist and academic faculty, established a school with challenging pre-professional training in the arts, developed a rigorous college preparatory academic program, and built a serene campus with modern living and learning facilities for young students.  The student body has grown from the original 80 students to 275 in 2008-2009.  They are 13 to 19 years of age and hail from more than 30 states and 20 countries around the world.  Academy graduates routinely are accepted at the most competitive conservatories, art schools, colleges and universities in the US upon completion of their studies.  
 
Lowman spearheaded several other milestone achievements over the past 25years.  He established relationships with specialized arts schools and artists in Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and China.  He established the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra, a world-class youth orchestra, which performs new works as well as classical pieces in concert.  The orchestra performed on PBS at the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center Honors under its founding Music Director Jung-Ho Pak and has since been lead by Music Directors Ransom Wilson and Dr. Peter Askim.  The non-profit corporation that offers these unique programs was originally incorporated in 1946 as the Idyllwild Arts Foundation to promote and advance artistic and cultural development.  Lowman assumed leadership of the organization in 1985, following a nineteen-year period when the University of Southern California owned and operated the school.  In a few short years, he strengthened the Board of Trustees, rescued the operation from its financial uncertainties and returned the Summer Program to its position of prominence as a beacon of excellence in arts education for the western US.  The IAF annual budget has grown from $800,000 in 1985 to $15,000,000 in 2009, full time employees from 18 to over 100.  Lowman has been responsible for raising more than $50,000,000 in support of the school, its young artists and programs.  Today, energized and growing under Lowman’s tenure, the Idyllwild Arts Foundation programs reach nearly 30,000 people per year.
 
Lowman served as President of the International NETWORK of Performing and Visual Arts Schools for two years, was on the board of the University of Redlands Alumni Association, is on the Council of Directors of the Yosemite Fund, the Board of Trustees of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation and the Board of the Pierson-Lovelace Foundation.  He was a Board Member of the Association of Boarding Schools, a committee of the National Association of Independent Schools.  In 1992 he was a visiting fellow at the Klingenstein Center for Independent Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York.     
 
Recent articles by Lowman include:
“Focus” in Second Home, a book about boarding schools.  This article explores how parents can cope with their children when a passionate focus develops in a specific area of study.  It also describes methods of nurturing young artists.  .
”Strategic Financing:  The Relationship between your Mission and your Money” is an article in a book entitled, Looking Ahead: The Future of Independent Education.  The article describes ideas for non-profit schools about financing, strategic planning and developing programs.
“Nurturing the Creators,” is an article in Independent School magazine that suggests that our schools do not adequately or effectively support creativity or creative, unusual students. 

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Ralph S. Opacic, Ed.D. – Founder of the award-winning Orange County High School of the Arts in 1987 and currently serves as President and Executive Director.  He is credited for assembling the finest artist-teachers and academic instructors in Southern California and creating an opportunity for young performing and visual artists to develop their talents to their greatest potential. Under Opacic’s leadership, the Orange County High School of the Arts has received top honors and recognition for excellence in both arts and academic education.  Most recently, the school has been named a 2009 California Distinguished School and a 2009 U.S. News and World Report Best High Schools in America Silver Medal recipient. The school has also been recognized as a 2006 No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, and received the 2004-2005 Creative Ticket National School of Distinction Award from the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education and the International NETWORK of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education’s 2006 Exemplary School Award.  

In 2007, Opacic was honored with the prestigious Artistic Visionary Cultural Legacy Award from Arts Orange County for his continued efforts in support of arts education. Students enrolled in the school’s tuition free, donation dependent arts conservatory programs have had the opportunity to study with an inspiring caliber of guest artists and master teachers, including Francis Ford Coppola, Bebe Neuwirth, Steven Mercurio, Matt Morrison, and more. The school is renowned for its creative, challenging and nurturing environment, and currently serves more than 1,550 students in grades 7-12 from more than 100 cities throughout Southern California. 

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Rory Pullens is currently the Head of School/Chief Executive Officer at the nationally renowned Duke Ellington School of the Arts.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Pullens spent over a decade as an arts administrator, including Arts Principal and Director of Academic Affairs at the Denver School of the Arts, Assistant Principal of the Los Angeles Arts Academy, and arts director of the Smith Renaissance School of the Arts in Denver, a school he designed as the first elementary arts school in Denver Public Schools. 

Prior entertainment credits span nearly two decades, including writer/producer of the award winning stage production The Choice is Yours starring Mabel King, and a series of original work stage productions he penned: Deadline, Taken!, Common Dust that toured primarily in west coast theatrical venues.   Mr. Pullens has served in production and script editing for various Hollywood ventures, working with Robert Townsend  (Hollywood Shuffle, The Five Heartbeats), casting director Jaki Brown, Lou Diamond Phillips, James Edwards Olmos, (Stand and Deliver), Ron Glass, Desmond Wilson on HBO’s The New Odd Couple and NBC’s A Different World.  He was the Chief Operating Officer/Executive Producer of USGL Corporation, a national sports/entertainment corporation, whose work was featured in VIBE and Sports Illustrated magazines.

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Tom Sherry serves as Design Principal at Hamilton Anderson Associates, where he is responsible for directing architecture and urban design projects in education, hospitality and the arts. Recent projects include the Detroit School of Arts, Wayne State University Welcome Center and MGM Grand Detroit. Tom is also an instrumental resource to the University of Michigan’s Detroit Studio HS, exposing high school students to careers in design.

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George Simpson brings more than a decade of experience in arts education.  Prior to joining Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, he served as director of the Roland Hayes School of Music in Boston. From 1999 to 2006,
Mr. Simpson was a founding faculty member of the Boston Arts Academy, the city's first and only high school for the visual and performing arts, where he was chair of the department of music. Mr. Simpson also served as the
founding director of the Berklee College of Music Preparatory School for
8 years.  

Mr. Simpson received degrees in music and education from the University of Western Ontario and a Master's degree in music education from Boston University. George also maintains certification in school administration from Northeastern University with additional studies in special education and education administration from Harvard.

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Robin Speer is the coordinator for Riverside Performing Arts High School, a school-within-a- school program, at Ramona High School in Riverside, California.  She received her BA in Dance from University of California, Riverside where she also received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Dance in 1977.  Before entering public education she performed as a member of the Riverside Ballet Company and Los Angeles Choreographers and Dancers.  She also served as Choreographer in Residence and House Manager for both the Mission Inn Dinner Theatre and the Riverside Civic Light Opera.  She developed the dance program for Ramona High School in 1987 and in 1994 co-founded the Arts School.  She was a member of the Riverside Arts Task Force from 2006-2008 where she helped to develop a district wide arts plan. 

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Tim Wade is the Vice President for Student Affairs, for Interlochen Center for the Arts where is responsible for student services, including residence life, student discipline, recreation, counseling, health and wellness for both the Interlochen Arts Academy and Interlochen Arts Camp. Tim has been with Interlochen since 1979, beginning as a guidance counselor for the Arts Academy. He has served as director of the counselor-in-training program for the Arts Camp (’83-’86), assistant director of Interlochen Arts Academy (’89-’91), dean of student services (’92-’98), and dean of education (’98-’99) and Vice President for Education Programs and Services (’00-’07).  Prior to joining Interlochen, Tim was a classroom teacher at Marshall Middle School in Marshall, Mich. for 7 years, and also served as a guidance counselor. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where he earned a B.A. in elementary education/history/English and an M.A. in counseling and personnel. He has been a licensed professional counselor since 1993. For the past six years Tim has served on the board of directors for the Arts Schools Network; chairing the communications committee, treasurer and second vice president.  He is also a board member for the Michigan Youth Arts Association and has served on the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce Education Committee. He has served on the boards of the Traverse City Kiwanis Club and Pathfinder School. Tim is married to Vicki, an elementary educator, and they are the parents of two daughters, both educators.

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