collaborative council


​Board of Directors Executive Team
Chair: Lucinda Presley, ICEE
Secretary-Treasurer: Amanda Upton, NSTA
Implementation Team
Executive Director: Lucinda Presley
Strategic Advisor: Jonathan Katz,  former CEO, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
Visibility Director: James Palmarini
Board of Directors
  • Jamie Bell, Senior Advisor, Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)
  • Sharon Delesbore, PhD, President, Association for Multicultural Science Education (AMSE); Asst. Principal, LV Hightower High School, Ft. Bend, TX
  • Michael Jay, Chief Executive Officer, Matchmaker Education Labs; President, Educational Systemics
  • Jonathan Katz, PhD, Collaborative Strategic Advisor; Professor of Practice in Cultural Policy and Arts Management, George Mason University; former CEO, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA)
  • Roger Malina, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Art and Technology, University of Texas at Dallas and Executive Editor, Leonardo Publications, MIT Press
  • Jim Palmarini, Palmarini Arts Education Consultancy; former Director of Educational Policy and Executive Editor, Teaching Theatre Journal, Educational Theatre Association (EdTA)
  • Lillian Poats, EdD, Professor, Department of Educational Administration and Foundations, College of Education, Texas Southern University
  • Lucinda Presley, Collaborative Chair and Executive Director; Executive Director, ICEE Success Foundation (ICEE)
  • Amanda Upton, Collaborative Secretary-Treasurer; Sr. Manager, Shell Programs, National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)

Advisory Council
  • Michele Browning, Director, The Journey Begins, Inc.
  • Lance Bush, President and CEO, Challenger Center
  • Melissa Collins, Second Grade Chair and Teacher, Memphis, TN, City Schools; Mentor, National Board Professional Teaching Standards
  • Amy D’Amico, Division Director of Professional Services, Smithsonian Science Education Center
  • Katie Dawson, Associate Professor with Tenure, Department of Theatre and Dance; Director, Drama for Schools, College of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Mary Dell’Erba, Senior Project Manager, Arts Education Partnership
  • Leslie Diamond, Culture & Engagement Coordinator, Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME)
  • Donna DiBartolomeo, Senior Director of Exhibits, California Academy of Sciences
  • Jennifer Edelyn, Director, Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Wolf Trap
  • Richard Embrick, CTE Department Head, Lamar Consolidated ISD, Sugarland, TX
  • Dwalah Fisher, EdD, Professor of Health, Kinesiology and Sport Studies, Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Sport Studies, College of Education, Texas Southern University
  • Deborah Gaston, Director, Education, National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA)
  • Erica Halverson, PhD, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Alex Hesse, Executive Director, The Leonardo museum
  • Gabriela Kane, Interim Executive Director, Latinitas
  • Sharon Klotz, Executive Director, Design for America
  • Merrie Koester, Director, Project Draw for Science, Center for Science Education, University of South Carolina
  • Kathi R. Levin, Consultant, Kathi R. Levin Consulting
  • Susan McGreevy - Nichols, Executive Director, National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)
  • Jeff Poulin, Managing Director, Creative Generation
  • David Pyle, Instructor, Colorado State University; Principal + Founder, Pyle Creative Studio
  • Jie Qi, Co-founder and CEO, Chibitronics
  • Freddie Reisman, PhD, Emerita Professor, School of Education; Director of Freddie Reisman Center for Translational Research in Creativity and Motivation; Co-Director of Drexel/Torrance Center for Creativity & Innovation, Drexel University
  • Kim Richards, Founder kdrpr.com and STEAMInsight
  • Jasmine Sadler, CEO, The STEAM Collaborative
  • Serena Sela, Interim Executive Director, Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia (SONOVA); Senior Business Analyst, IT Concepts, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - Office of Health Informatics (OHI)
  • Tricia Shelton, Chief Learning Officer, National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)
  • Leah Silverberg, Project Manager, Afterschool Alliance
  • Brian Smith, PhD, The Honorable David S. Nelson Chair and Associate Dean for Research, Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College
  • Florentia Spires, PhD, STEM Instructional Leader, Prince George’s County Public Schools
  • Ed Spitzberg, Founder and Principal, Spitzberg Advisors
  • Cheri Sterman, Director of Education, Crayola
  • Ralph Tillinghast, PhD, Lab Director, Collaboration Innovation Lab, US Army (C CIV USARMY RDECOM ARDEC (US)
  • Christi Wilkins, Executive Director, DesignMakeLearn.org
  • Hope (Bess) Wilson, PhD, Chair, Department of Special and Early Education, College of Education, Northern Illinois University