Faculty & Staff

Executive Director and Artistic Director

José Ochoa

Mr. Ochoa is the founding Executive Director of The Chicago High School for the Arts, scheduled to open fall 2009. Most recently he was the Superintendent of Cultural Arts for the Metro Parks and Recreation Department in Nashville, Tennessee, where he supervised the dance, music, theatre, and visual arts departments, two museums and the special events department.

As an educator, he has served as a private teacher and instructor in music, dance, and theatre and also taught in traditional school settings both in academic and arts areas. As a classroom teacher, he taught English at a charter school for at-risk high school students in Amarillo, Texas, English at a bilingual private school in Honduras, and music for underserved elementary and middle school students at a charter school, Sallie B. Howard School for the Arts and Education, in Eastern North Carolina.

Besides his work in arts administration and in education, Ochoa has had a diverse career in the performing arts. As a musician he has performed solo flute recitals including the Festival Internacional de Arte e Cultura de Suchitoto in Central America. In dance, he danced with several regional ballet companies and he was the choreographer for the outdoor drama Texas Legacies, the official state play of Texas for three seasons. Ochoa also produced an arts festival Steinbeck on Stage…of words and dance which premiered his ballet La Perla based on the novel by John Steinbeck at West Texas A&M University. He has directed/choreographed for Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, Ballet Nacional, WTAMU, Burning Coal Theatre Company, Lone Star Ballet, Street Theatre Company, several community theatres throughout the Southeast and for several productions in Central America.

Ochoa is a graduate of the North Carolina School for the Arts in music performance and has a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies—Dance, Music, Theatre, from West Texas A&M University. He is currently a board of trustee for the National Guild of Community Schools for the Arts and an honorary trustee for the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Student Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator

Stephen Crandall

Stephen Crandall hails from the Texas panhandle, but is proud to call Chicago home. He has worked with ChiArts since October 2008, and helped to recruit the inaugural freshman class. Stephen has served as interim Marketing Director for the Nevada Conservatory Theatre & adjunct instructor in Voice & Movement at UNLV, as well as Education Director for the Amarillo Little Theatre Academy. He holds a B.S. degree in Theatre Performance from West Texas A&M University, and an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. As an actor, Stephen studies the Lugering method of integrated voice, movement, & acting training and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Administrative Assistant

Peter Gaona

Peter Gaona is a native of Chicago. He trained at the Joel Hall Dance Center, Deeply Rooted Center of Cultural Enrichment, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Broadway Dance Center, and Columbia College. Peter has danced with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Ascension-The Kirby Reed Project, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Instruments of Movement, Tyego, Joel Hall Dancers, The Willingham Project, The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (Denver, Colorado), Dance Loop, Thodos Dance Chicago, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre. He has also appeared as a background dancer for Paul McCartney's Driving USA Chicago tour, Cece Penniston, and Jennifer Holiday. Peter has taught for AileyCamp Chicago and is currently on faculty at the Joffrey Academy.

Director of Finance and Operations

Dorothea Roque

Dorothea Roque joined ChiArts in August 2009 as Director of Finance and Operations. Dorothea brings more than 20 years of financial experience, including work as a consultant and full time employee providing controllership and consulting services to various Fortune 500 companies and emerging small businesses. Dorothea's diverse background includes working with companies such as Chicago Christian Industrial League, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, LaSalle Partners, Harris Bank, Foote Cone & Belding and more. She received her Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Business Information Systems from Western Michigan University. Dorothea is also a member of the National Notary Association .

ChiArts Academic Leadership

Principal and Chief Academic Officer

Terri Milsap

Ms. Milsap was a high school teacher for 11 years and a principal of a Chicago charter school for 2 years. Ms. Milsap has an MA in School Leadership from Concordia University, a BA in English Education from Governors State University and a BA in Speech Communications from Illinois State University. She is currently working toward her Ed. D in the nationally recognized Urban School Leadership program at the University of Illinois–Chicago. In addition to school leadership and teaching, Ms. Milsap has experience in school reform, charter renewal, curriculum development, and entrepreneurship.

Instructional Coach

Lori Birenberg

An English teacher-leader who was on the founding team of Al Raby High School, Lori Birenberg has experience developing curriculum as well as presenting at College Board facilitating roundtable discussions and presenting workshops on designing and implementing a post-secondary course at national and regional forums. She completed her Master's degree at National-Louis University and obtained a double major in English and Communications at Indiana University. She completed her certification work at DePaul University.  As instructional coach, Ms. Birenberg will work with teachers on curriculum development and creation of rigorous lessons and will provide professional development programs.

Guidance Counselor

Dana Grube

Ms. Grube completed her internship at Evergreen Park High School. She was a counselor for 2 years at Morgan Park Academy where she designed an advisory program, established a freshman tutoring program, and provided individual, group, and crisis management counseling services. Ms. Grube received her MA in School Counseling and Community Agency Counseling from Saint Xavier University. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Psychology from Saint Xavier University. In addition, Mr. Grube is a licensed therapist and an actress.

ChiArts Teachers

English

Meg Arbeiter

A teacher who has achieved National Board Certification, Meg Arbeiter received a grant from Facing History and Ourselves to travel to South Africa to conduct an intensive study of race relations and to build relationships with educators and community leaders. She has held several teacher leadership positions in the past. Arbeiter received a Master’s of Education from DePaul University, a Master’s of Industrial Relations from Loyola University Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has served as Department Chair of English and an Instructional Leader at ACT Charter School.

Tina Boyer Brown

A creative English teacher who has just finished the first draft of her novel, Ms. Brown holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. She has also worked in theatre and improvisation. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s in Communication Studies with a focus on Rhetoric. She completed her teacher education coursework at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.

History and Social Science

Dr. Sunni Ali

Dr. Ali earned his Doctorate in Educational Administration from Roosevelt University and holds a type 75 principal’s certificate. He is currently working toward an endorsement in special education. Dr. Ali has taught a variety of college prep and AP history classes. He is also an adjunct professor at Northeastern University.

Math

Padraic O’Donnell

Padraic O’Donnell earned his Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University in Political Science (International Relations) and his Master’s degree from St. John’s College in Liberal Arts (Western Classical Studies). He holds a Type 9 Illinois teaching certification from North Park University in History & Mathematics. This will be his tenth year teaching high school students having taught mathematics, history, and English during his career. He has most recently been teaching Math at Gordon Tech.

Suzanne Melecio

Suzanne Melecio completed her student teaching at Mather High School. She has most recently been teaching Algebra and Geometry at Gordon Tech. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois where she majored in Mathematics and minored in Computer Science. She recently completed her Master's of Education at DePaul University and received her certification in Secondary Mathematics.

Science

Joann Harling

A visual artist who is also a science teacher, Joann Harling completed her student teaching in science at Walter Payton College Prep. She taught biology at Whitney Young during the 2008-09 school year.  Ms. Harling has an M.F.A. in the Visual Arts from the University of Chicago, a B.S. in Biomedical Visualization from UIC, and a B.A. in Zoology from Miami University of Ohio. She is an adjunct professor and teaches painting and art history at the College of DuPage.

World Language

Jessica Lepore
Spanish/English

Jessica Lepore is certified at the high school level in both Spanish and English and has experience teaching both subjects to high school students. In addition to her experience at Norridge High School, she has taught at Dunbar Vocational Career Academy and at North Lawndale College Prep Charter School. Ms. Lepore has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Michigan. She obtained her Master's of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix and has further studied curriculum development at National-Louis University.

Jenna Reid
French/English

Jenna Reid is a new teacher who just completed her student teaching in French at Benito Juarez High School. She received her Bachelor of Arts in the Teaching of French with a minor in English Literature from the University of Illinois-Chicago. She holds Illinois state teaching certification with endorsements in French and English.

Special Education

Tammy Walker
Case Manager

Ms. Walker’s passion to advocate for special needs students began during her teenage years when she served as a volunteer for an autistic child. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Illinois State University and a Master of Arts in Education from Governors State University. Ms. Walker served in the United States Army Reserve for 8 years, during which time her unit was activated for duty during Operation Desert Storm. She has over 10 years experience in teaching and administration, including four years as a CPS Vice Principal. Ms. Walker holds type 10 and  type 75 principal’s certificates.

Physical Education

Kelli VanShoick

Ms. VanShoick comes from Michigan and is a first year Physical Education teacher. She is looking forward to developing a program specialized to the needs of ChiArts students.

Arts Departments

Dance

Lisa Johnson-Willingham
Dance Department Head

Since moving to Chicago in 1999, Ms. Willingham has worked as the Dance Director of the Whitney Young Dance Department and the Director of AileyCamp Chicago. Her credits include work with several dance companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Joel Hall Dance Company, and Hubbard Street II. She founded The Willingham Project, a multi-cultural dance company providing dance and educational programs for underserved communities. Currently, she is on the faculties of Columbia College, Olive-Harvey City College, and the Academy of Dance, the official school of the Joffrey Ballet.

Zineb Chraibi
Graham Tech

A former dancer with the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Zineb Chraibi grew up in Casablanca, Morocco where she first started training. She later returned to her native city of Paris to study ballet, modern, and jazz, then to Montreal to pursue her training at Les ballets Jazz De Montreal. In 1991, she completed her B.A. in Dance magna cum laude at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, PA while performing with the Playhouse Dance Theatre. Since moving to Chicago, Miss Chraibi has performed with the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Winifred Haun and Dancers as well as various independent choreographers. She has served on the faculty of the Conservatory of Dance at Barat College, The Chicago Academy for the Arts, and the Joel Hall Dance Center and taught at the Lou Conte Dance Studio. She is currently on the faculty at the Dance Center of Columbia College, the Jofffrey Ballet  and guest teaches in the US and abroad.

Sarah Ford Thompson
Ballet II

Ms. Ford is originally from Georgetown, Kentucky. She began her dance training at age 8 at the Lexington Ballet under the direction of Karl Kaufman. She went on to earn her B.F.A. in Dance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. While studying at CCM she trained with James Truitte and fell in love with the Horton Technique and modern dance. After relocating to Chicago, Ms. Ford danced for 9 years as a company member with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and self-produced several dance concerts as Nucleus Dance Collective. Currently, Ms. Ford serves as Associate Artistic Director to Hyde Park School of Dance, Tyego Dance Project and Tyego Next Generation. She is the director of Hyde Park School of Dance's outreach program for the community. She also teaches dance at the Chicago High School for the Arts and the Joffrey Ballet. Ms. Ford is also a certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor, group fitness instructor and Clinical Exercise Specialist.

Reginald Harris
Ballet I

Reginald Harris began his dance training at age five with his uncle and mentor, Marshall Lindsey. At age twelve, he began his classical ballet training with former Dance Theatre of Harlem principal dancer Homer Bryant. After high school, Reginald studied year round as a professional division student at The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Reginald has danced professionally with the River North Chicago Dance Company, Dances Patrelle and Ballet Austin, dancing the works of Marius Petipa, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Stephen Mills, Thang Dao, Thaddeus Davis, Viktor Kabaniev, Sidra, Bell, Gina Patterson, Frank Chaves, Harrison McEldwoney and Kevin Iega Jeff. Reginald is also a teacher and choreographer. He has taught at the Ballet Austin Academy and various other studios around the country. He has also been commissioned by Ballet Austin to create five ballets for Ballet Austin II. Reginald was the 2008 recipient of the Gem City Ballet’s choreographic competition.

Brian McSween
Ballet III

Brian McSween was born and raised in Charlotte, NC where he began dancing in tap, jazz, and ballet at the Charlotte City Ballet. He attended the Joffrey School of Ballet for two summers before being accepted into the Joffrey Concert Dancers. He worked seasonally with Joffrey, American Ballet Theatre, and Grand Rapids Ballet before joining the Aspen Ballet Company full time. After two years he returned to the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago where he has performed varied roles throughout the repertoire. Brian has also worked with Complexions: A Concept in Dance, taught around the country and choreographed for the Charlotte City Ballet. He remains a member with the Joffrey and was most recently seen in the movie The Company.

Lauren Moore
History of Dance

Lauren Moore was born and raised on the South side of Chicago. She attended Whitney Young High School and went on to receive her B.F.A. in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she had the opportunity to work with prominent and emerging national and international dancers and choreographers. Ms. Moore also holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Dominican University in River Forest, IL. She began studying dance at the age of five and has trained extensively with the likes of Homer Hans Bryant, Russell Talbert, Kevin Jeff, and Lisa Johnson-Willingham; she is currently performing with the Willingham Project. In addition to teaching dance history and orientation at The Chicago High School for the Arts, she teaches eighth grade language arts at O’Keeffe Elementary School in Chicago’s south shore neighborhood. Ms. Moore has a passion for not only dance and performance, but education as well. She is excited about the opportunity to be able to fuse dance and education together to produce well-rounded students -“scholar artists”- that are not just skilled and gifted in the area of dance, but students who are also intellectually sound.

Music

Betsy Ko
Music Department Head

Betsy Ko, flutist, has been an active performer and teacher in Chicago since moving to the area in 1991. She joined the faculty at Merit School of Music in 1994, where she teaches individuals and groups of all levels. During the 2008-09 school year, she coached the Lewis Weinberg Honors Flute Quartet which was one of the winning ensembles in Midwest Young Artists’ 2009 Chamber Music Competition. She was also a member of Merit's administrative staff, serving as Director of Bridges: Partners in Music from 2006 to 2009.

As a performer, Ms. Ko freelances in a wide variety of settings. Performance resume highlights include being a soloist on “Live from Studio One” on WFMT and at the National Flute Association’s annual convention. She can also be heard performing on the compact disc “Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano”, a collection of Jewish cabaret music released in 2002 by Cedille Records.

Ms. Ko received her M.M. in Flute Performance from DePaul University, where she studied with Mary Stolper, and she holds an undergraduate degree in Pure Mathematics from Brown University. She is currently completing her Illinois Type 10 certification in music at DePaul University.

Rob Block
Jazz Ensemble

Rob Block is a guitarist and pianist who has been active as a professional jazz musician since 1982. His work has graced the jazz communities of New York, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Chicago. Rob has worn many hats, functioning  as a composer and arranger as well as an instrumentalist in most jazz sub-genres. As an instructor, Rob has taught at the university level for 12 years, covering everything from theory and improvisation to small group scoring and arranging. He has also taught Latin Jazz at the Old Town School of Folk Music since 2006. He can be seen performing around the Chicago area in a variety of settings, including Afro/Cuban and Brazilian music, small group jazz ensembles, and accompanying a wide range of jazz vocalists. Visit http://www.robblockjazz.com.

Natalie Chami
Vocal Techniques, Keyboard Skills, Music Theory Fundamentals

A recent graduate from Northwestern University, Natalie Chami holds a Bachelors in Music for Music Education with a choral and voice concentration. She has studied with renowned professors such as choral conductor Robert A. Harris, soprano Pamela Hinchman, and music educators and researchers Bennett Reimer and Maud Hickey. With her degree progress, she is also Illinois Teacher Certified for grades K-12 music. During her time at Northwestern, she volunteered and coordinated groups such as the Music Learning Community (MLC) and UpBeat!, organizing free music lessons for the Evanston and Chicago community with collaboration from Northwestern students. Along with studying and performing classical voice and opera, Natalie enjoys composing in experimental and electronic medium. The aspect of music that she loves the most is in its social context—music brings people together. It is an outlet for emotion, creativity and tradition, it is a constant in all cultures, and the music classroom is an opportunity to fulfill these human needs and expressions during the school day. She hopes for ChiArts students to leave the classroom with a connection to how music exists with all people, and the tools to pass the passion and joy of music on to others.

Thomas Clippert
Guitar Technique, Guitar Ensemble, Guitar Repertoire

Thomas Clippert indulges the wide variety of music available for the guitar, from the early Renaissance to the present day. He frequently performs as both soloist and chamber musician throughout the Chicago area. He has appeared with a variety of ensembles including L’Opera Piccola, Heartland Voices, CUBE, The University Of Chicago New Music Ensemble, the Yale Guitar Orchestra, and the Northwest Chicago String Quartet. Tom is a graduate of the Yale School of Music where he studied with Benjamin Verdery and was awarded the Eliot Fisk Guitar Prize. Additional studies include Phillip de Fremery at the the Mount Holyoke Guitar Master Class and Patrick Roux at the Domaine Forget Music and Dance Academy in Quebec. Tom currently teaches guitar, jazz guitar, and chamber music, at The Merit School of Music, Oakton Community College, Wilbur Wright College, and The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

Racheli Galay-Altman
String Technigue,String Ensemble, String Repertoire, Music Theory I

Racheli Galay-Altman is an international strings education specialist. She has performed and conducted worldwide and has presented clinics and workshops at universities, colleges and school-orchestras. Dr. Galay has taught at VanderCook College of Music, the Music Institute of Chicago and at New-Trier High School, inspiring hundreds of students and music educators in the studies of musical foundations, performance and creativity in music. She is also co-author of an Improvisation Method for String Orchestra and has arranged and composed works for the cello. Dr. Galay completed her Doctorate in Music at Northwestern University, an M.M. at Indiana University and a B.A. in Musicology, magna cum laude, at the University of Tel-Aviv. Dr. Galay is a member of the American Strings Teachers Association (ATSA), Music Education National Convention (MENC) and the Suzuki Society of the Americas (SSA). She is an adjudicator for the Society of American Musicians (S.A.M.) Competition and director of the Chicago Improvisation Institute at the Music Institute of Chicago. Visit http://www.rachelgalay.com.

Hsing-Huei Huang
Piano Technique

Hsing-Huei Huang was born and raised in Pingtung in the south of Taiwan and came to the United States in 1993 to pursue higher musical education. In 1997, she received her B.F.A. at Carnegie Mellon University where she studied piano with David Deveau and Enrique Graf. Under Hanna Wu Li's supervision, Ms. Huang taught private lessons as well as group lessons in Carnegie Mellon University's Preparatory School from 1995 to 1997. She received her piano pedagogy certification in 1997, and her M.M. in Piano Performance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999. She served as a piano instructor at St. John's School from 2000 to 2002, where she and her colleagues developed the curriculum for piano studies for the Fine Arts department. Ms. Huang moved to Chicago in July 2002. Currently she has a private studio at home and enjoys teaching and performing.

Jeffrey Kelly
Snare Technique I

Jeff Kelly has played and studied drums and percussion for more than two decades. He was fortunate to have received a large part of his training from the late Alan Dawson, who mentored such drum set luminaries as Tony Williams and Vinnie Colaiuta. He studied Music at Boston University, and went on to earn his Master's Degree in Jazz from The Berklee College of Music / Boston Conservatory. There he continued his drum set work under the tutelage of Ron Savage, and Jon Hazilla, who was a student of Max Roach's. He studied Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music with Ed Uribe, Sa Davis, and Bobby Sanabria (Dizzy Gillespe, Arturo Sandoval) and West African drumming with Joe Galeota (maker of JAG drums). He traveled to Ghana for additional study with Emanuel and Rueben Agbeli, sons of Master Drummer Godwin Agbeli. He is an experienced and dedicated drum teacher and an active performer who plays in genres including jazz, funk, folk, rock, pop. In addition to his work as a Professional Musician, Jeff is also a producer, recording engineer, songwriter, and composer. As a composer, Jeff has written and recorded original scores for Twentieth Century Fox Searchlight, MTV, and independent films.

Tina Laughlin
Two Mallet Technique

Tina Laughlin was born in Elgin, IL and attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. She received both her B.M. and M.M. in Percussion Performance with a minor in Art History from DePaul University. Her training included eight years with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she performed under the direction of Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez and Sir Georg Solti. As a freelance artist, Laughlin performs with many orchestras and theaters in the Chicagoland area including the Lyric Opera Orchestra, Grant Park Orchestra, Lake Forest Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Sinfonietta, Light Opera Works, Drury Lane Oak Brook and the Elgin Symphony. She is a strong advocate of new music and appears regularly on the New Music DePaul concert series and performs with CUBE. In 2000, Laughlin became a core member of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project which is "dedicated to presenting thematically inspired programs that reinvigorate the concert experience through the presentation of works influenced by jazz, latin, rock. literature, film and theater." Laughlin maintains a private percussion studio and is on the faculty of DePaul University, Merit Music and The Chicago High School for the Arts.

Mary Martell
Choir, Chorale, Vocal Techniques, Keyboard Skills, Piano Repertoire

Canadian choral director and pianist, Mary Martell, received her Master's Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Calgary where she studied with Charles Foreman, Martin Isepp, Donald Bell and Talmon Hertz and participated in intensive master classes with various performers including Christopher Hogwood. She has studied choral conducting with Wayne Riddell, George Evelyn, Carleton Elliott and Sir David Willcocks. From 1988 to 1990 she was the Choir Director at Universite Canadienne en France (Nice). Mary came to Chicago in 1991. She recently conducted the Faure Requiem, orchestra and chorus with soloists, and has worked extensively in recital with singers in the Chicago area. At Merit School of Music she conducts 5 performing choirs and has taught for 5 years in their 'Bridges Partners in Music' program. In addition to performing  and conducting, Ms. Martell teaches piano, has written a group piano method - “Keyboard Connection.” Many of her former students have pursued careers in music.

Nicole Mitchell
Jazz Ensemble

"A compelling improviser of wit, determination, positivity, and tremendous talent...” (Chicago Reader), Nicole Mitchell is a creative flutist, composer, bandleader and educator. Mitchell was awarded “Jazz Flutist of the Year” (2008) by the Jazz Journalists Association and Downbeat magazine’s #1 Rising Star Flutist from 2005-2009.  Her compositions reach across sound worlds, integrating new ideas with moments in the legacy of jazz, gospel, pop, African percussion and classical contemporary music. Mitchell is the founder of critically acclaimed Black Earth Ensemble and Black Earth Strings, and her work has been a highlight at art venues and festivals throughout Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Nicole Mitchell is currently President of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and continues the exciting directions in music that AACM has charted for decades. As an educator, Mitchell has done jazz and composer residencies at Vancouver Jazz Festival, University of Michigan, University of New Mexico, Cal State University Fullerton, Guelph University, and others. She has worked as an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University, Chicago State University, Northeastern University, and University of Illinois - Chicago. Named Chicagoan of the Year 2006 by the Chicago Tribune, Mitchell is also a member of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Anthony Braxton’s 12+1-tet, Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra, David Boykin Expanse, and Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. As a composer, she has won fellowships from Chamber Music America and the Illinois Arts Council and has been commissioned by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Ravinia and the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Mitchell has six recordings as leader and several recordings as co-leader. Visit http://www.nicolemitchell.com.

Devvora Papatheodorou
Piano Ensemble, Accompaniment for Choir & Chorale

Devvora Papatheodorou has an M.M. in Piano Performance from DePaul University, a B.M. in Piano Performance from Nikos Skalkotas Conservatory and a Degree in Harmony from Model Conservatory. She studied piano technique and chamber music for five years with Deborah Sobol, Mary Sauer, Dimitris Toufexis (Juilliard) and John Naumann, and studied harmony and composition with Peter Tsitsopoulos and Panagiotes Adam. She has had master classes with Mary Stolper, Yehuda Hanani, Jerry Grossman, William Cernota, and Christopher Costanza among others. Devvora has extensive experience in teaching piano, piano ensemble and theory. She has had training and certification in YAMAHA’s Clavinova lab and trained piano faculty in group class repertoire, class management and methodologies. She has coached one‐piano four‐hand and two‐piano ensembles, as well as mixed chamber groups for several years. She currently teaches at Dominican university, Merit School of Music, Music Institute of Chicago, and Old Town School of Folk Music.

Theatre

Rob Chambers
Theatre Department Head

Rob Chambers has more than twenty-five years of professional theater experience as a director, actor, educator and administrator. He is the Artistic Director of Theatre Mir and teaches a variety of courses at The Theatre School, DePaul University. Mr. Chambers is a guest artist faculty member of The Second City Training Center where he was formerly President of Training and Education for The Second City. While at The Second City, he oversaw programs in the United States and Canada, growing the division into one of the largest actor training programs in the world. At Second City, he also served as Producer of The Second City Detroit, Producer of “The Laugh Track” television program, and Board member of The Second City Foundation. He has held staff positions at Hartford Stage Company, Goodman Theatre, League of Chicago Theatres, Melanie Stewart Dance and South Jersey Regional Theatre, and has served as a consultant, board member, and volunteer for numerous arts and service organizations. He earned an M.F.A. in Directing from The Theatre School, DePaul University, and a B.A. in Radio-TV-Film from Temple University.

Annie Calhoun
Theatre History & Literature

Annie Calhoun is originally from Chicago, then traveled to Indiana and spent her undergraduate years at Taylor University receiving her teaching degree in Theatre and English Education. She then founded a drama program in Upland IN, directing their inaugural production of School House Rock Live!. Annie recently completed her Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul; while training there she appeared in The Man From Nebraska, The Bald Soprano, Fefu and Her Friends, The Giver, Hardball, and Flow My Tears. Annie is also an improviser, performing regularly with her teams at The Playground Theatre and Improv Olympic. She is an avid writer and has written and composed music for Northlight Theatre Academy, (directing and teaching classes there as well) and her one-woman show, Oregon Trail: A Musical Review, that she has performed around the city.

Erin Crowley
Movement: Yoga

Erin Crowley earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University in 2003 and her yoga certification at the Temple of Kriya Yoga in 2001. She has been teaching yoga, movement, theatre, and writing to youth for 13 years in the public and private schools of Chicago, Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Her love of invention and creative movement landed her at summer camps in New Hampshire and Colorado, teaching yoga and theatre performance to young people and touring original youth theatre productions along the New England Coast. Ms. Crowley has 10 years experience teaching yoga to adults and, in addition to teaching at ChiArts, teaches yoga for the youth-based organizations Our Common Threads and Mindful Practices. She continues to study yoga with her mentor, Gabriel Halpern, at the Yoga Circle in Chicago.

Laura T. Fisher
Voice & Speech

Laura Fisher has performed with the Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Court, Victory Gardens, and many other theatres in Chicago.  She has created original works with Cardiff Giant and Plasticene theatre companies, and was an ensemble member with Famous Door for ten years.   She is the recipient of Joseph Jefferson and After Dark Awards for her performances, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.  Ms. Fisher has also performed with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, NextBook, and WBEZ’s Stories on Stage as a narrative performer. As an educator, Ms. Fisher has taught Voice and Speech all over the country in a variety of environments for nearly 20 years; she is the Voice and Speech teacher of the Conservatory at Act One Studios. Ms. Fisher received her degree in Theatre from Loyola University of Chicago and holds a certificate from the London Shakespeare Studio.

Lawrence Grimm
Acting

Lawrence Grimm has been both a freelance and full-time arts educator for over 15 years. A graduate of DePaul University's School of Education, he most recently taught for three years at Stevenson High School as an English and Drama teacher. Other teaching endeavors with young people include co-director and founder of A Red Orchid's Youth Ensemble, the Illinois Arts Council, Urban Gateways, Second City, Piven Theater Workshop, Audition Studio, CAPE, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf for Young Adults and Second CIty. For seven years, he directed the Thresholds Theatre Arts Project, a program designed to give adults with mental illness a theatrical voice for their personal stories. Currently he is the Director of Erasing The Distance's "What's Behind our Eyes": a high school touring show on mental health issues for young people. He served in a similar capacity with Omni Youth Services' REALITY Troupe in Buffalo Grove. In New York. Larry taught with Lincoln Center Institute, Roundabout Theatre, Arts Connection and Theatre for a New Audience. His acting credits include work with A Red Orchid Theater (co-founder and ensemble member), Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Raven, Collaboraction, Piven Theatre and Famous Door among many others. He is the recipient of Joseph Jefferson Citation.

Rachel Slavick
Acting

Rachel Slavick is on the acting faculty at The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she received a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting and has directed many plays including The Exonerated, Brutality of Fact, Boy Gets Girl, The Glory of Living and Top Girls. She recently completed the film Petersburg with Split Pillow Productions. She is a founding ensemble member at Theatre Mir, where she has been seen as Floss in The Prisoner's Dilemma and Rena in The Arab-Israeli Cookbook. She is also the company's casting director and grant writer.

Visual Arts

Diana Stezalski
Visual Arts Department Head

Diana Stezalski was born and raised in Chicago. She received her B.F.A. in Film and Television from the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University in 1994. In 1996, she enrolled at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy to study classical drawing and painting. She returned to Chicago in 2000, where she became an instructor at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) and the Urban Gateways Center for the Arts. She also served as the SAIC resident teaching artist in Advanced Placement Drawing and Painting at the Chicago Public Schools/Gallery 37 Advanced Arts Education Program. Diana continues to paint and is a recipient of a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and received recognition as a teacher from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. Diana Stezalski has exhibited in the United States, England, Sweden, and Italy. Visit http://www.dianastezalski.com for more information.

Monica Balc
Three Dimensional Design/Sculpture

Monica Balc was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. She attended “Liceul Nicolae Tonitza,” an art high school. A year after her admittance to Universitatea de Arta in Bucharest, she moved to Arizona. She obtained a B.F.A. from Arizona State University in 1996. A year later, she moved to Chicago where she obtained an M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her selected exhibits include: Juried Shows: Knoxville Art Museum (TN); Old Town Art Fair (IL); Women Made Gallery (IL); Beverly Arts Center (IL); Suburban Fine Arts Center (IL); Three Arts Club (IL); Solo Shows: Galeria 003 (Bucharest); Lee Dulgar Gallery (IL); Selected Group Shows: North Park University (IL), Artemisia Gallery (IL); ARC Gallery (IL); Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago (IL); School of the Art Institute of Chicago (IL). Currently, Monica Balc teaches art and works as an independent artist. Visit http://www.chicagosculpture.com for more information.

Nicole Northway
Drawing I

Nicole Northway moved to Chicago for graduate school.  She earned her MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in May of 2008. She currently maintains a studio in Bridgeport as well as her Humbolt Park apartment. Her work has been recognized by the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation, whose support has helped her tremendously in transitioning into her professional career. She has been making and exhibiting work for nearly ten years in the cities of St. Louis and Chicago. Her work has been shown most recently in a solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Workshop. Her paintings have also been exhibited in the Next Fair at Art Chicago, Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts in St. Louis, and the Ah…Decadence show at the Sullivan Gallery. Nicole also teaches at Columbia College and DePaul University.

Joel Wanek
Visual Communication/Digital Photography

Joel Wanek is a Chicago-based photographer and educator. Joel teaches photography at many of the city's premier arts organizations, including the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Center for Community Arts Partnerships, Marwen Foundation and the Hyde Park Arts Center. His photographs have been featured in a variety of publications including Stop Smiling, DownBeat, Jazz Times, Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Reader, ZoneZero, Vibrations (France) & The New Cosmos of Photography (Japan). He has participated in group shows at Bucket Rider Gallery and The Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago, and CENART in Mexico City. He holds a B.F.A. in Photography & Cinematography from Webster University in St. Louis and has carried out advanced studies at The Center for Documentary Studies at both Duke University and Columbia College Chicago. Visit http://www.joelwanek.com for more information.