Andy Bower is a music educator, arranger, and producer based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He also performs regularly throughout the gulf south and his home state of Pennsylvania. Over the last decade, Andy has guest lectured at several music education conferences and universities, and was a quarter-finalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator award.
Andy thrives at the nexus of the music education field and the performance industry. …
Al Carter is a New Orleans native New Orleanian and product of the Orleans Parish Schools. He graduated from John F. Kennedy Sr High school, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond with a major in Mass Communications and lastly a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux.
He has eleven years of teaching experience including teaching with the Lafourche Parish School Board, the St John the Baptist School Board and most recently the Terrebonne Parish School District.…
Tia Clark’s fiction has appeared in The Offing, American Short Fiction, Kenyon Review, Fourteen Hills, and elsewhere. They have received funding and fellowships from The Wisconsin Institute of Creative Writing, the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the Elizabeth George Foundation. They have taught writing at The University of Wisconsin, the New Orleans Writers Workshop, and Indiana University, where they received their MFA in fiction.…
Blake started dancing at the age of three and has been in the studio ever since. He has toured internationally with “Tops in Blue,” and has toured nationally with “Oliver,” “West Side Story,” “Gypsy,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Bye-Bye Birdie,” and “Annie.” Blake has taught all over the world and his unique teaching styles, combined with his personality and strong varied techniques, keep him in constant demand on the road.…
Silas is beginning his 16th year at NOCCA and has served previously as a Drama Department Faculty Member, Chair of Drama and as Director of Arts. Mr. Cooper has also served as the faculty representative on the NOCA Board of Directors and as a member of NOCCA’s Equity Committee. He received his MFA in Acting from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington and his BFA in Theatre from Tulane University.…
Yvette is very happy to be immersed on a daily basis in such a wonderful creative environment. Born and raised in New Orleans, she has always been an avid lover, and participator, in the arts. Her spare time is spent in nature and walking every dog in the neighborhood!
Lotte has nearly 30 years of experience in public service and degrees in Accounting and Public Administration from the University of New Orleans. Starting her career as an auditor with the US Army and the Orleans Parish School Board, Lotte transitioned to NOCCA in 2000 as the Comptroller. Over her more than 20 years at NOCCA, Lotte has evolved to being the Chief Financial Officer and taken over the responsibilities for supervision of the Information Technology, Maintenance, Security, Library and Food Service departments, in addition to all the fiscal responsibilities.…
Communicator EXTRAORDINAIRE! If you have not heard of NOCCA, Brian will tell you everything you ever needed to know…Middle School Programs, Workshop Series, Auditioning, who your state legislator is, Brian knows it all. In addition to communications, Brian coordinates all campus events and manages the daily calendar, not an easy task for a booming arts center. …
Maisha Joshua is a native of New Orleans. She is completing her 8th year at NOCCA as the Human Resources Director. As a graduate of Loyola University of New Orleans, Maisha has a wide range of professional experience in supporting her family’s business for several years, working in a non-profit agency as the finance director and working directly with children in community based settings in New Haven, Connecticut. …
Mischa D. Krilov is a New Orleans native, book lover, gamer, game designer, foodie, geek, husband, father, and didgeridoo player.
Not in that order.
Kesha McKey is beginning her 18th year at NOCCA and has deep roots in NOCCA’s creative history, starting as an alum from the Dance Department, and later as a part of the Dance Faculty, the Dance Department Chair and currently as the Director of Arts. Kesha is a skilled performing artist, choreographer and educator born and raised in New Orleans and has served the New Orleans community as an art educator and culture bearer for over 25 years.…
Lara Naughton has taught students K-12 as well as adults. As a writer and documentarian, she assists individuals who wish to tell their own stories, and has led writing classes with people who have faced challenging circumstances, including homelessness, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, wrongful conviction, incarceration, and torture. She is a certified Compassion Cultivation Trainer through the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, and founder of the Compassion Program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, LA.…
Kit has been a part of the NOCCA team since 2012 and has served as an Integrated Sciences Faculty Member, Chair of Integrated Sciences and as Director of Academic Studio. During that time she has helped to build and continues to support the Academic Studio program with a focused on ensuring that the Academic Studio is a visionary school for creative learners. …
Anna Schwab is a native of Baton Rouge and a longtime advocate for the arts. She currently serves as Deputy CFO at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. Prior to starting at NOCCA Anna served as the Interim Executive Director at Of Moving Colors Productions and was the Director of Finance and Human Resources at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.…
Mrs. Amy Tilling moved to New Orleans in July of 2005 and despite being welcomed by Hurricane Katrina only a few weeks later, she is here to stay in New Orleans. Mrs. Tilling earned her Bachelors of Science in Secondary Mathematics Education from the State University of New York College at Cortland (2000) and has just earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington (2014).…
Originally from Baton Rouge, Dana Wallace is a proud resident of New Orleans. She received her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Loyola University New Orleans (2017), where she specialized in child and family counseling. She also completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Child and Family Studies (2014) from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.…