Ann Marie Miller
Director of Advocacy & Public Policy ArtPride New Jersey
Ann Marie Miller leads ArtPride’s advocacy and governmental affairs efforts and serves as chief connector of the arts to other public and private sectors. As a member of the senior management team, her goal is for the general public to gain a greater understanding of how art is comprehensively integrated into all aspects of our daily lives. Ann Marie graduated from Moore College of Art & Design with a B.S. in arts education, and taught visual art in both public and private settings. The transition to arts administration happened with jobs at county and state arts agencies, completing the trifecta with a fellowship at the National Endowment for the Arts. A transition to the nonprofit arts sector occurred as Development Director at McCarter Theatre Center. She has seen the arts from all sides now having served as Executive Director of ArtPride from 1996-2014, before assuming her current position.
Ann Marie is a fiber artist, maker, and baker who is an adjunct professor at Montclair State University, and chairs her local arts commission because she just can’t get enough art in her life.
Jeremy Grunin
President Grunin Foundation
For over 10 years, Jeremy has been actively engaged throughout the community as President of the Grunin Foundation, a proactive grantmaker focused on economic growth at the Central Jersey Shore. Jeremy is also a Partner of Grunin Holdings, LLC., a New Jersey Partnership specializing in investing in third party commercial ventures. Prior to that, Jeremy was a leader in the private sector for over 15 years, where he managed teams of 1000+ employees responsible for over half a billion dollars in revenue. He has also hosted several talk radio shows on both AM and FM radio, including Topic A on WOBM.
Jeremy’s Foundation, Advisory and Board Directorships include:
Board Chair of Count Basie Center for the Arts;
Board Chair of New Jersey Center for Nonprofits;
Immediate Past Board Chair and Current Executive Board Member of
Fulfill;
Board Member of YMCA of Greater Monmouth County;
Trustee of Community Medical Center;
Board Member of Community Foundation of South Jersey;
Board Member of Arts Ed NJ;
Board Member of Monmouth University;
Member of New Jersey State Council on the Arts;
Board Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Coastal and Northern New
Jersey;
Board Member of Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship (WCEC);
Co-Chair of the NJ Arts and Culture Renewal Fund Steering Committee;
Co-Chair of mindALIGNED Steering Committee;
Advisory Board Member of the Grunin Center for Law and Social
Entrepreneurship at NYU School of Law;
Board Member of Military Support Alliance of New Jersey; and
Appointed Member to Ocean County Tourism and Business
Development Advisory Council.
Rick Dammers was appointed the Dean of the College of Performing Arts in 2017 . Rick joined the Music Education faculty at Rowan in 2006 and served as Chair of the Music Department from 2011-2017, during which time the music department grew in student enrollment, faculty size, and external funding. Since becoming Dean, he has helped create the Rowan Arts Engine (a 501c3 art incubator designed to support the regional arts ecosystem), initiated the creation of the Pride of the ProfsMarching Band, and guided the construction of the Wilson Hall Dance Studios.
He is the co-author of the book Practical Music Education Technology, and the author of the technology chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education in the United States. His research interests include technology in music education, artificial intelligence in arts education, and he co-facilitates the NAMM funded TI:ME Music Technology Leadership Academy, a national program for undergraduate and graduate music education students.
Before teaching at Rowan, Rick was a music teacher (band and technology) and the Fine Arts Facilitator in the Ladue School District in suburban St. Louis for 13 years. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Northwestern University; and a Masters and PhD in Music Education from the University of Illinois. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha, Phi Beta Mu, and is an honorary Friends of the Arts member of Sigma Alpha Iota.
Liz Duffy
President
International Schools Services
In July 2015, Liz Duffy became the President of International Schools Services (ISS). For the previous 12 years, she served as the 12th Head of The Lawrenceville School, a boarding school founded in 1810 in Lawrenceville, NJ, serving 815 students in grades 9-12 from around the world. During her tenure, she led comprehensive curriculum redesign and strategic planning efforts, introduced new student leadership, international travel and environmental sustainability programs, fostered an inclusive culture on campus, strengthened the School’s finances and operations, and raised over $350 million.
Ms. Duffy graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in Molecular Biology, and she received a joint MBA/MA in Education with a certificate in Public Management from Stanford University.
Ms. Duffy came to Lawrenceville with an extensive background in the educational foundation world, having worked at the Ball Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Princeton University.
Ms. Duffy currently serves on the board of The E.E. Ford Foundation. She is also past chair of the board of Princeton AlumniCorps, past president of the Eight Schools Association, an emerita trustee of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and a past trustee of Princeton University and the National Association of Independent Schools, among other organizations.
Ms. Duffy is married, and she and her husband have two college-aged children.
Margaret El
Director of Visual & Performing Arts
Newark Public Schools
Chiho Feindler
Chief Program Officer
Save The Music Foundation
Chiho Okuizumi Feindler is the Chief Program Officer for the Save The Music Foundation, responsible for the implementation of the award-winning national initiative committed to restoring music education in America’s public schools and to raising public awareness about the benefits of music education. Ms. Feindler completed rebuilding of instrumental music education in such cities as Buckeye, AZ; Columbia Heights, MN; St. John the Baptist Parish, LA; and Trenton, NJ, and directly manages ongoing partnerships in cities including Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Miami, FL; New Orleans, LA; Newark and Paterson, NJ; New York, NY; and the state of West Virginia. Ms. Feindler has presented at numerous state and national educator conferences including National Council on the Arts/National Endowment for the Arts Meeting, SXSW Edu, KIPP Summits, Arts Education Partnership National Summit, and National Association of Elementary School Principals Conference and provides consultation to communities throughout the United States as they face challenges that jeopardize arts education.
Porché Hardy
Arts Advocate
Porché is an arts administrator and philanthropic professional who brings deep expertise and experience working with teams in both government and non-profits to develop programs to help build a stronger arts sector and a more equitable pathway to social change through arts funding and sector leadership. Her work bridges arts organizations and arts education.
She has served with the largest arts funder in New Jersey, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, where, as the Program Officer for Arts Education and Performing Arts Presenters, she was responsible for leveraging $3 million of state and federal funds statewide to help ensure vibrant and healthy communities through investments in the sustainability and innovation of arts education and performing arts organizations.
Notable accomplishments during Porché’s work in New Jersey include redeveloping a statewide Arts Education Professional Development plan for New Jersey teachers and teaching artists and advocating for and executing the expansion of the Americans for the Arts Diversity in Arts Leadership Internship into the state.
Prior to joining New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Porché was the Assistant Director of the Institute of Music for Children in Elizabeth, NJ, where she was responsible for the operations of the organization’s major initiatives: The After School Institute, The Summer Institute, The Youth Leadership Institute, Teen Arts Night and The Community Institute.
She began her career at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, completing her tenure there as the Associate Director for Arts Training, where she was responsible for the programmatic management and development of performing arts training initiatives.
Porché is also a singer, actress, and coach who has spent over fifteen years combining her love of performing on stage with her passion for arts advocacy, equity in the arts, financial wellness, and public policy. She is an alumna of the William Esper Studio, The Council of Urban Professionals, the Victoria Emerging Leadership Program, and Leadership Newark. She has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and serves on the steering committee for the NJ Arts & Culture Administrators of Color Network; has served on the Membership Committee of the Council of NJ Grantmakers, and Steering Committee for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) Arts Education Working Group. An active member of her community, Porché served as the President of the Urban League of Essex County Young Professionals.
Barbara Fulton Moran
Arts Advocate
A longtime friend of the arts in New Jersey, Barbara held several posts during her 25 years in state government. She joined the New Jersey State Council on the Arts staff as Assistant Executive Director and served over a decade as its Executive Director. In 1999 she was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Cultural Affairs to oversee the New Jersey State Museum, the Division of Archives and Records Management, the Trenton War Memorial, the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She subsequently became the founding Executive Director of the New Jersey Cultural Trust which was established to create a permanent and stable source of funding to help build endowments, create institutional stability and fund capital projects for arts, history and humanities organizations in New Jersey. In addition to her work with the Cultural Trust, she served as Executive Director of the New Jersey State Museum. She led the Museum through a major renovation project and reopened the Museum to the public in May 2008.
During her 17-year tenure with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts she was elected board member and Chair of both the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. She also served on the board of the Council of NJ Grantmakers.
She has received many honors for her contributions to the arts in NJ and nationally including the Arts Management Career Service in the Arts Award, presented at the Kennedy Center; the Gary Young Award, presented by NASAA to recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to the cultural community and who offer leadership to others in the field of public support to the arts; and, the Award for Public Service from the New Jersey Network Foundation. She received a NJ Governors Awards for Arts Education in 1994 and again in 2014 for Distinguished Service.
In addition to her participation as a Trustee of Arts Ed NJ, Barbara is Vice-Chair of the Board of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation where she serves as Chair of the Governance Committee. She is also active on the board on Young Audiences New Jersey and Eastern PA and co-chairs their 50th Anniversary Campaign and Development Committee and serves as past Chair and now member of the Arts United Committee.
A native of Paducah, Kentucky, Barbara received an undergraduate degree in Theatre from Murray State University and a Masters from Bowling Green State University in Theatre and Communication. Her professional career started as a teaching artist, a creative dramatics specialist. She co-founded a children’s theatre company and served as Director of Arts Education at the Monmouth Council Arts Council. She was Director of the New Jersey State Teen Arts Program prior to joining the Council on the Arts.
Barbara lives in Trenton, NJ with her husband, Tom Moran and enjoys gardening, traveling, and learning to play the ukulele.
Mary Reece
Director of Special Projects
Foundation for Educational Administration
Dr. Mary Reece is the Director of Special Projects at the Foundation for Educational Administration. Prior to joining FEA, Mary served as a principal, assistant principal, and supervisor in Edison Township. She began her teaching career in Irvington, and later worked at the NJ Department of Education. Mary has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Rutgers University from which she received her graduate degrees, and she has served as a mentor for many administrative interns. She has presented at state, national, and international conferences on such diverse topics as teacher/administrative tenure, special education issues, mentoring/induction, arts integration, early childhood education, and afterschool/extended learning. She has been an active member of local, state, and national education associations, completing a term on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Currently, Mary is the chairperson of both the Montgomery Township Environmental Commission and Sustainable Montgomery. In addition, Mary is a founder of Creative NJ, and she on the Board of Arts Ed NJ.
Schulz, a proven leader and effective spokesperson, has been involved in New Jersey State Government for over 30 years.
Well respected in the state and national educational communities, Schulz served as the Executive Director of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools for over 22 years. During her tenure, she was the liaison between a host of different organizational units, groups, agencies and the Executive Branch and the New Jersey Legislature.
NJASA represents school chief education officers and other central office and administrative personnel statewide.
“The NJASA Director of Governmental Relations position is an irresistible challenge and opportunity to influence public education at the state level during a very critical period,” said Schulz.
When New Jersey made the momentous decision to enact the Charter School Act in 1995-1996, Schulz was involved in every aspect of that Act, as well as everything that lead up to the Act. She collaborated on both the pilot program and the permanent program of the Interdistrict Public School Choice Legislation.
The School Construction Act, Early Childhood Education Act and the Articulation and Transfer of Credits Act were all areas that Schulz had a large hand in making a reality.
She served on the statewide advisory board of the NJ School Aged Care Coalition, (NJSACC), the NJ Career & Technical Advisory Council (NJ CTE), the REL Midlantic’s Governing Board, and was a non-voting member representing the Joint Committee on the Public Schools for the NJ Schools Development Authority (SDA). Previously she was a member of the Quality New Jersey’s Board and received a Certificate in Quality Management Practices from them. Schulz was actively involved with the State Action for Education Leadership Project (SAELP) and currently serves on the NJ State Chamber of Commerce Business Coalition for Educational Excellence Board.
During her career with the Joint Committee on Public Schools, Schulz received numerous awards. The Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership awarded her with the Outstanding Performance in Advocacy and Policy for Children in New Jersey Award. The State of New Jersey Department of Education honored her in 2005 with its Service Award. In 2006, she was honored in Washington D.C. by The Center for Education Reform as one of the Top 52 Education Reformers in the United States and in 2017 the NJ Charter Schools Association presented her with the Outstanding Service Award.
Prior to assuming her position as Executive Director of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, she was the Senior Legislative Aide to former Assemblyman Gerard Naples. During that period, she assisted in crafting new laws for Special Education and the school funding formula known as the Quality Education Act. (QEA)
Ms. Schulz is a life-long resident of Hamilton Twp. (Mercer County). She is the mother of 3 children and the grandmother of 5.
David TamakiManaging Director
New Jersey Ballet
David Tamaki began his formal training at New Jersey School of Ballet at age 7 and became a member of NJB’s Junior Company in 1998. A year later he joined the Company and during his career danced principal roles, which included the Champion Roper in Rodeo, the Prince and Trepak in Nutcracker, Romeo in Romeo & Juliet and Le Corsaire pas de deux to name a few. Mr. Tamaki instructs ballet for New Jersey School of Ballet where he teaches all levels from children to adults.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary’s College of California where he graduated summa cum laude and holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University. Mr. Tamaki has served as an Associate Faculty member at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies where he co-instructed courses in Leadership Giving, Board Governance and Innovations In Philanthropy. He has also instructed a course titled Career paths at Fairleigh Dickinson University, which focuses on management in the arts. He also leads NJB’s Dancing for Parkinson’s program, which provides free weekly dance classes to individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and was a Stanley J. Wertheimer Fellow.
