CROSSROADS TEAM

Staff

Mat Schwarzman, Project Director, has been a student, practitioner, instructor and writer in the field of community-based arts since 1985. He has helped establish arts education programs for teens, college students and adults across the United States. He holds a doctorate in Learning & Change in Human Systems from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Kina B. Joshua, Project Manager, A business consultant with over 12 years experience. She attended New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) concentrating in dance, graduated from Xavier University and is now attending University of New Orleans in the Masters in Business School. Joshua has built several businesses from the ground up and is experienced in systems analysis, needs assessment, organizational capacity building and strategic planning.

Consultants

Bryan Jeffrey Graham (www.bigtada.com), Design Coordinator, is sole proprietor of Big Tada Inc., a new design and production company focused on the arts and community development fields. Clients include New Orleans Museum of Art, National Performance Network and the Greater New Orleans Afterschool Partnership.

Luther Gray, Master Teaching Artist (Percussionist), An internationally renowned master percussionist featured with several great entertainers from around the world. He is leader of the award winning group Bamboula 2000 and a sought-after workshop leader all over the world. His workshops not only explain and demonstrate the technical aspects of drumming but also emphasize the possibilities of extending communication and cultural exchange between all people by means of making music. Gray utilizes his Bachelor in Arts from University of Wisconsin, natural skill and passion to inspire youth.

Rondell Crier, Master Teaching Artist (Visual Artist), A New Orleans native and internationally successful artist who has commissioned with major projects and companies such as SWATCH, I.P. Network and Satchmo to Marsalis: A Tribute to the Fathers of Jazz Concert. Crier started as a student at YA/YA; later joined the YA/YA team as Secretary on the Board of Directors and eventually became the Executive Director of Programs. Crier holds an Associate of Arts degree in Illustration. His appreciation and passion of art and youth empowerment helps him serve as a professional and creative mentor to young artists.

Morris Jones, Master Teaching Artist (Visual Artist), A documentary photographer for more than 50 years who has specialized in capturing the essence of New Orleans culture. Jones developed many of his abilities documenting the New Orleans Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. His photography has garnered him numerous recognitions as an artist, instructor and cultural standard-bearer. Jones holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Southern University at New Orleans, and in addition to his photographic career, has worked as a team leader in sales, government and military.

Timeka J. Junius, Teaching Artist (Visual Artist), Timeka is a visual arts teacher incorporating relaxation music to assist in mediating and concentrating on artwork. She uses her degree in graphic design to empower and educate youth on self-expression through art.

Kathy Randels, Master Teaching Artist (Theater), Randels is a theater specialist and artistic director of Artspot Productions. Born and raised in New Orleans, Kathy is a performer, composer collaborator and educator with a Bachelor of Science in Performance Studies from Northwestern University. Randels has won an OBIE award for her work with collaborators Katie Pearl and Lisa D'Amour in "Nita & Zita."

Marcia Lobman, Evaluation/Strategic Planning Coordinator, has been designing, delivering and evaluating wide-ranging educational programs in her adopted state of Louisiana since 1970. Throughout her career, she has focused on assisting non-profit agencies to build and sustain effective educational programs for children and adults.

Advisors Council

Staffas Broussard has extensive background in curriculum design in collaboration with several national organizations. Presently, he is Director of the Algebra Project based out of Eleanor McMain High School. Broussard holds a BS and MS from the University of New Orleans. He also has a Doctorate in Mathematics from Tulane University.

Linda Frye Burnham (www.communityarts.net) is a writer who is co-director of Art in the Public Interest and the Community Arts Network. She was founder of High Performance magazine and co-founder of the 18th St. Arts Complex and Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, Calif. She has been a staff writer for Artforum and contributing editor for the Drama Review. She lives in Saxapahaw, N.C.

William Cleveland (www.artandcommunity.com) is an internationally-prominent writer, musician and Director of the Center for the Study of Art and Community. He has directed and consulted on cutting edge arts programs for teens, inmates ant the general public throughout the United States for decades.

Greta Gladney is a leader in several rebuilding projects in the New Orleans community related to economic development, the arts, education and community health. Greta holds multiple undergraduate and graduate degrees (M.B.A., B.A., and B.S. with distinction) and is Founder and Director of The Renaissance Project.

Keith Knight (www.kchronicles.com) is a San Francisco based cartoonist and creator of two nationally-syndicated weekly comic strips, "The K Chronicles" and "(th)ink." He is part of a new generation of artists raised on hip hop who infuse their work with urgency, humor, edge, satire, politics and race.

New Village Press (www.newvillagepress.net): A new publisher based in Oakland, CA, serving the emerging field of community-building. NVP publications (such as Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts) focus on creative, citizen-initiated efforts—"the good news" of social transformation.

Steven M. Seidel, Ed.D., is Director of Project Zero and the Arts in Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He continues his work as a Research Associate and Principal Investigator and as Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Nayo Watkins has over 40 years experience working with non-profit organizations. She serves as Executive Director of the Myekye Center in Durham, North Carolina, and assists numerous organizations in the planning and organizing programs focusing on art in communities, with particular attention to the arts as tools in community empowerment and social transformations.

To make contact with the Crossroads Project, email us at info@xroadsproject.org