Alicia B. Adams is the Vice President of International Programming and Dance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She joined the Kennedy Center in 1992, first serving as Special Assistant to the Chairman, James Wolfensohn. For the past decade, Adams’ role at the Center has been producing and presenting in the international arena. In addition to major international festivals, Adams also curates the Center’s Contemporary Dance Series and the Etcetera Series.

Ella Baff is Executive Director of Jacob’s Pillow, an international dance festival, professional school, archives and National Historic Landmark located in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. She is from New York City and studied classical music and dance. Some of her past positions have included Program Director at Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, which commissioned and presented work in all the arts from around the world, and Project Director for WNET public television in New York for America Dancing.

Zane Booker has been a member of the White Oak Dance Project, Ballets des Monte Carlo, Netherlands Dance Theatre, Chamber Dance Project, and Philadanco. He has performed as a guest artist with companies including the Opera de Monte Carlo and Jeanne Ruddy Dance. Mr. Booker has worked with Ann Reinking and toured with Fosse directed by Debra McWaters. Mr Booker is a 2004 PCA Fellowship recipient. He is a faculty member at Howard University and University of the Arts.

Joan Gray is the President of Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago. She has been with Muntu since 1977 when she joined as a principal dancer. Muntu is one of the leading African dance companies in the country; and will be the first to build its own home from the ground up when its new performing arts center is completed in 2009. The Company’s repertoire consists of traditional dances from various countries, as well as more contemporary work that reflect the diverse cultures of people of African descent around the world. Joan has been in her present capacity since 1986.

Carla Peterson is Artistic Director of Dance Theater Workshop, since fall, 2006. She is responsible for leading the institution’s overall artistic vision and designing programming that advances dance and live performance in New York City and worldwide. From 2002-‘06, she served as the Executive Director of Movement Research (MR); while there, she received a 2005 New York Dance and Performance Award a.k.a. The Bessies in recognition of her leadership in directing MR.

Cory Baker began her career with the Scottsdale Cultural Council in 2000 working in audience development for the organization’s three divisions: The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Scottsdale Public Art Program. She currently serves as Director of Performing Arts. The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has a 30-year history as a multi-disciplinary presenting institution, and dance has always been at the heart of its programming.

Anna Glass has been involved in the performing arts as both an artist and arts administrator for over ten years. Anna is currently the Managing Director of 651 ARTS, a presenting/producing arts organization dedicated to celebrating the breadth of the African Diaspora. Her professional affiliations include the Editorial Board for Inside Arts magazine, National Resource Council for the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography and founding member of the Next Generation of Arts Administrators (NGAA).

Walter Jaffe (Ph.D., German Literature, Yale, 1979) is Co-Founder of White Bird, a dance presenting organization in Portland, Oregon now celebrating its tenth anniversary. He is a former publisher and former board member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company. A year after moving to Portland from New York City in June 1996, Walter and his partner Paul King founded White Bird to bring the best local, national and international dance companies to the city. White Bird has presented 97 dance companies to date.

Nunally Kersh has served as Producer of the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC since 1995 where she produces and presents a wide range of national and international work each season. Prior to joining the Spoleto Festival, she was Associate Producer for the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City. Arts experience prior to working with Lincoln Center included serving as Director of Public Relations for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival as well as serving as an independent consultant for a number of national and international projects. Ms.

Ben Johnson is the Director of Northrop - Concerts and Lectures at the University of Minnesota- Minneapolis. As Director of Concerts and Lectures, he works with community partners and university departments to develop innovative programs to integrate and enhance campus and community engagement with the performing arts and scholarly/civic discussions. Johnson was the Director of Education and Audience Development at the University Musical Society (UMS) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for 14 seasons, and also worked extensively with the Ordway Music Theater in St.

Since 2002, Bridgette Kohnhorst has been at the helm of Great Performances at Vanderbilt (University) as curator and producer, and as Director of the Sarratt Art Gallery for the office of the Dean of Students. In addition, she began programming the Vanderbilt’s Speakers Series (VUSC) including the university’s historic political symposium IMPACT in 2006.

Since 1995, Margaret Lawrence has been Director of Programming at the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, one of the original prototypes of American campus-based performing arts centers. There, she curates a program of over 50 annual visiting artist events, including the commissioning of new works. A former board member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and a Trustee of the Vermont Arts Council, she has served on panels for the Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Vermont arts commissions and as consultant for Creative Capital.

Angela Mattox is Performing Arts Curator at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts - San Francisco’s leading multidisciplinary contemporary art center that presents bold and innovative performance firmly grounded in exploring the complex issues of our times. In 2003, Angela relocated to the Bay Area from New York to join the curatorial team at YBCA and was instrumental in revitalizing the performing arts program.

Marjorie Neset has been the Executive Director of VSA arts of New Mexico/VSA North Fourth Art Center since 2001. Neset began her presenting career as Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Albuquerque from 1977-1989, managing and/or programming the KiMo Theatre, South Broadway Cultural Center, and Public Art Program. From 1989-1992, Neset directed the New Performance Gallery in San Francisco. VSA North Fourth Art Center produces and presents artists in programs such as Global DanceFest, Wild Dancing West, and Two Worlds.

Jodee Nimerichter returned to the American Dance Festival (ADF) in 2003 as the Associate Director and was named Co-Director in May 2007. She is responsible for the administration/management of the ADF, assists with the long-range planning of the Festival, co-curates the performance seasons, and oversees special projects. She produced ADF’s Dancing in the Light (2007), a program showcasing six historic works by African American choreographers, for PBS. Ms.

Phil Reynolds began his tenure as Executive Director of The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago in 1998. The Dance Center is Chicago’s leading presenter of contemporary dance. Prior to moving to Chicago, he directed Catamount Film and Arts Company, an exemplary multi-disciplinary presenter and local arts agency in northeastern Vermont. Mr. Reynolds began his professional career at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He was also employed in New York as Executive Director of the Nikolais and Murray Louis Foundation for Dance.