Eli Yamin

Ronald Eldridge “Ron” Claiborne is an American journalist and correspondent for ABC News, he is the current “more news reporter” for the weekend edition of Good Morning America, anchored by Dan Harris. He joined ABC News in 1986. 

Claiborne has previously worked in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Boston bureaus of ABC News. He has also covered international stories in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, China, South America, Africa and Europe. 

In 2007 and 2008, Claiborne covered the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain. He has also covered such stories as the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in 2002 and 2003, the Elian Gonzalez custody case in Miami in 1999 to 2000, the Yugoslavia conflict in Belgrade in 1999, the 2000 Bush presidential campaign, the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. During the 2003 Iraq War, he reported from the Persian Gulf region and was “embedded” on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. 

Claiborne was part of the ABC News team that won a 2000 Emmy Award for coverage of the seizure of Elian Gonzalez in Miami. In 2003, he was an Ochberg Fellow with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, affiliated with the University of Washington. 

Prior to joining ABC News, he was a general assignment correspondent for WNYW-TV, New York from 1982 to 1986. He was a reporter for the New York Daily News from 1980 to 1982 and a reporter and national editor for United Press International in New York, from 1977 until 1980. 

Claiborne earned an MS in journalism in 1975 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He received a BA in psychology from Yale University in 1974. He is a native of San Francisco, Calif., and grew up in Oakland, Calif., and Los Angeles. 

Claiborne is a former Jazz Power Initiative Board President.

Patricia is an employment and human rights attorney, successfully representing survivors of sexual assault, harassment and discrimination, and offers many years of dedication and commitment to addressing the issue of sexual violence. She also represents individuals fleeing gang violence, political and religious persecution in their countries of origin to seek asylum in the U.S., and seeks to protect individuals against government abuse. She is a zealous advocate for her clients. Prior to her admission to the Bar, Patricia developed critical skills through her work in law enforcement conducting preliminary investigations of sex crimes and child abuse complaints. 

On the business end, Patricia develops top-notch compliance and training programs for companies seeking to bring their operation to the next level. She trains management teams on professional, non-discriminatory workplace conduct and leadership skills. She is a proven leader in building relationships, developing teams, and identifying unique approaches to resolving business disputes. 

A talented tap dancer, choreographer, and teacher, Dexter Jones has appeared in countless stage productions including the critically acclaimed West Coast premiere of Swinging on A Star at the International City Theatre in Long Beach, Ca. and was nominated for an NAACP Theatre Award for his performance. On Broadway and in national and international tours he has been seen as Richie in A Chorus Line, Andy Lee in 42nd Street, a New Rhythm Boy in My One and Only, Riverdance, Play On!, and performing Cholly Atkins classic soft shoe “Memories of You” in the multi-Tony award winning hit Black and Blue. His television credits include “Loving”, “One Life to Live”, “All My Children”, “The Little Richard Story”, “Bojangles” (starring Gregory Hines), “The Old Settler” (starring Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen) and PBS Great Performances of Black and Blue and Play On! He also performed his rst lead lm role in Urban Spoon.

Debra Spencer, a museum-trained curator and art historian, also specializes in cultural policy.  

Spencer holds a Master’s from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, with adjunct studies in Film at M.I.T. She also studied Painting, Museum of Fine Arts School Boston, and Art 

History, Western Michigan University and Harvard University. An independent curator, Spencer’s current clients are the William J. Clinton Foundation Headquarters, Gallery MC and Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, NYC. Former clients include The Romanian Cultural Institute, Bucharest, Romania, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC and the Harlem Arts Alliance. Recent contributions to arts policy include the Schomburg Center/NYPL and NY State Council on the Arts. 

Spencer’s training in museology was at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Art, Boston, the latter of which influenced her curatorial style of focusing on interdisciplinary and multi-media exhibitions. Recently, she organized an exhibition series showcasing over 60 NYC-based artists that represented 18 countries and 4 continents. 

Spencer speaks and writes on issues of contemporary art. Recent presentations include: Women in Business and Gender Equality in the Arts, UNESCO Paris; Independent Curatorial Practices, Arts and China Federation of Literary and Arts Circles of Beijing; and The Emergence of a Figurative in African American Art. 

Congress retained her services to design and manage the nationwide competition for the Congressional Memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., permanently installed in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Spencer was awarded two NEA Fellowships in Arts Management, was a founding member of the African American Museums Association, and is a member of the American Alliance of Museums and International Council on Museums. 

Wendy Rothman, business entrepreneur and organizational psychologist, is a renowned and sought after professional with a focus on developing human capital. With a background that combines successful entrepreneurship with advanced training in psychology, she brings unique breadth and perspective to the work of performance management. Combining measurement rigor with real world business success, Wendy is a practical and inspiring advisor to executives at all levels. Her academic training combines a PhD in Psychometrics (the scientific discipline of testing and measuring human characteristics) with a Masters in Organizational Behavior. While completing her post graduate studies, she went on to build and grow 4 businesses in the discipline of managing and developing Human Capital – the largest of which grew to over $110 million in revenues. This experience grounded her academic training with real world understanding of the issues and choices facing executives in general and executive women in particular. Since 2001 she has been the President of Wenroth Consulting, Psychology at Work – a consortium of business psychologists specializing in leadership development, executive assessment & performance coaching as well as career transition counseling. Today, Wendy is an elected member of The Committee of 200, an organization for preeminent women Presidents and CEOs. She is a published author, speaker, broadcaster, and recognized expert in maximizing human behavior at work. 

2009 Grammy Award Winning Producer & Voting Member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Producer of ”Real Jazz” heard weekly on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. 

Jeff is currently under contract with Jazz at Lincoln Center, producing, recording / mixing albums & special projects under the direction of Wynton Marsalis. Additionally Jeff produces and records through his company World Alert Music in Manhattan. 

Raised in a musical household, Jeff’s classical training was overseen by his mother, an Opera Singer. In his early studio days Jeff learned firsthand, working with legends: Don Elliot, John Hammond, Russel Simmons, Rick Rubin, Arthur Baker, Hank Shocklee, Jam Master J, Teruro Nakamura, and Puff Daddy. Jeff’s scope is wide, and encompasses the realms of Jazz, Classical & Rock. 

Jeff’s passion as an inventor and developer, has earned him the reputation and nickname “The JediMaster” of recording techniques. His Guerilla recording of Wynton Marsalis won him a 2006 Grammy Nomination. EMI President Bruce Lundvall credited Jeff’s mixes of Willie Nelson as “The best sounding live album, I’ve ever heard”. Dr John considers Jeff “The next Tommy Dowd”. 

Becca Pulliam produced 23 seasons of the weekly series JazzSet from NPR Music, hosted by Dee Dee Bridgewater and Branford Marsalis. One edition featured a story with actualities from the Jazz Drama Program’s first production,When Malindy Swings, at Louis Armstrong Middle School in Queens. In addition, Pulliam produced 28 consecutive live, all-night, coast-to-coast Toast of the Nation specials, live on New Year’s Eve from NPR and WBGO Jazz 88 in Newark, NJ. In 2014-15, she has written the Berlin Philharmonic in Concert series for WQXR in New York, and the Spring Gala for the John F.  Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. As Please Repeat the Question Productions, Pulliam makes the podcasts from the annual conference of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education, Hunter College. 

Louise Robinson, is one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. She is a native New Yorker, studied concert bass for six years and attended the High School of Music and Art. A graduate of Howard University with a BFA, her professional career began at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage. Louise accepted Robert Hooks’ invitation to become a member of the new, D.C. Black Repertory Company Acting Ensemble. It was out of this theatre company that Louise, along with Carol Maillard. Bernice Johnson Reagon, and Mie, formed the a cappella quartet, Sweet Honey In The Rock. Louise’s colorful career has taken her up many paths, including performances, both on and off-Broadway, and in film and studio recording. She has also worn the producer’s hat as she, along with Maillard and Smokey Ronald Stevens, produced A Sho Nuff Variety Revue, a series of performances showcasing some of New York’s finest talent, including Adolph Casear, Sandra Reeves Phillips, and legendary tap dancers Gregory Hines, Avon Long, and Joe Attles.

Carol Maillard is one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although she originally attended Catholic University of America on scholarship as a Violin Performance major, she soon began writing music and performing with the drama department and eventually changed her major to Theater. Carol became an accomplished actress and has performed in film, television, cabaret and on stage. Her theater credits encompass a wide range of styles from musical comedy and revues to drama and experimental. She has worked on Broadway in DONT GET GOD STARTED , ITS SO NICE TO BE CIVILIZED, COMIN UPTOWN , HOME and EUBIE; off-Broadway with the Negro Ensemble Company, the New York Shakespeare Festival and at the Actors Studio and many regional theatre productions. Recently she Reprised her role as Woman Two for a staged reading of Samm Art Williams Tony nominated play HOME for Project 1Voice. Carol served as Conceptual and Creative producer for the 2005 documentary film SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: RAISE YOUR VOICE ! on the PBS series American Masters. Produced and directed by Stanley Nelson, the film chronicled SWEET HONEY’s 30th Anniversary year. She also produced the accompanying soundtrack for the film.

Artistic Director and Co-Founder  Eli Yamin is a pianist, composer, singer, producer and educator who has been spreading the joy of jazz through his work for 30 years including 10 years as founding director of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy. Eli tours with his blues band and jazz quartet, has released eight CD’s featuring his compositions, published three youth centered jazz musicals and has performed at The White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and over 20 countries as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State. Eli sincerely believes learning about jazz should feel as creative as playing jazz and consistently shares this experience with students of all ages. He has written a book, So You Want to Sing the Blues, published by Rowman and Littlefield in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and is on the faculties of Lehman College (CUNY) and Marymount Manhattan College.

Janny Gonzalez was born in Venezuela and studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Los Andes, located in the city of Merida, Venezuela receiving her B.S. in Chemical Engineering degree in 2012. After launching a successful career in Process Design Engineering in Venezolana de Proyectos Integrados, C.A. (VEPICA) in Caracas, Venezuela, she migrated to the United States in 2016 due to political factors. Janny began working in the non-profit sector in 2017 at Jazz Power Initiative (JPI) in Inwood, Manhattan as a marketing, bookkeeping and operations consultant. Jazz Power Initiative, is a jazz arts education organization serving 300 youth in Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood and produces 15 concerts annually in the community.  After proving her capabilities, Janny was promoted to Business, Operations and Development Manager in fall of 2018 and recently became the second full time employee of the organization working closely with the Managing and Artistic Director Eli Yamin. Janny’s responsibilities include managing the budget, operations, and fundraising activities of JPI as well as serving as a staff liaison to the Board of Directors. Janny is a singer, plays piano, is happily married and the proud mom of one child.

Detroit native Endea Owens, is a vibrant up and coming bassist.  She has toured and performed with Jazzmeia Horn, Steve Turre, Jennifer Holliday, Camille Thurman, and Lea DeLaria from the Netflix original series “Orange is The New Black”. Endea has done music exchange programs in Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago. She has performed at jazz festivals in Switzerland, Paraguay, The Cayman Islands, South Korea, Detroit, and San Francisco. 

Recently, Endea has been featured on ABC7 News (New York) with Sandy Kenyon, as well as ABC7 “Here and Now”. This episode was played in 6,500 taxis in the New York area. This year Endea was featured in The Wall Street Journal as well as Billboard Magazine. Currently, she is completing her Master’s degree at The Juilliard School. 

Motema Music recording artist, Rondi Charleston, is an award winning jazz singer, lyricist and composer whose work has appeared in film, TV and on stage through the U.S. and in Europe. She recently collaborated with pianist Fred Hersch on music for the award winning film, “No Place on Earth,” which had worldwide theatrical release and was shown on the History Channel.  

Her fifth solo album, Signs of Life charted on JazzWeek, and JazzTimes says, “She is a songwriter whose poetic, narrative and compositional skills are comparable to such modern masters as Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon.” She has performed to sold out crowds at Yoshi’s, Catalina’s, Dakota, Birdland, Blue Note, Joe’s Pub and at Jazz at Lincoln Center as part of the the Women in Jazz Festival Jazz at Dizzy’s. Rondi is also an Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist, having worked with Diane Sawyer at ABC News PrimeTime Live. 

Philadelphia-born musician, David F. Gibson, toured extensively and recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Frank Foster. David has also performed with a host of artists and ensembles, including Joe Williams, Clark Terry, the Sun Ra Arkestra, the Odean Pope Saxophone Choir, the Diane Schuur Trio, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and the Woody Herman Orchestra. Music critic, Chip Deffa (the New York Post) says that “Gibson’s drumming is strong and fluid and as satisfying as any drummer I heard in years.” Music critic, Jerry Carrier (the Philadelphia Daily News) says, ”Gibson may be the ultimate band drummer.” He is also featured on recordings that include Diane Schuur’s Music is My Life and Harry Sweets Edison’s Live at the Iridium. He is an adjunct faculty member at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Temple University.

Max Pollak has received Flo-Bert and Hoofer Awards, a Bessie Award Nomination, Individual Artist Grant (N-Manhattan Arts Alliance), NYFA Fellowship in Choreography. A member of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Cuba’s famous Rumba ambassadors, he is a prestigious name on the international tap and world music scene. Critics and peers worldwide acknowledge his superior musicianship and his highly individual style called “RumbaTap” – a pioneering blend of Afro-Cuban song and dance with American tap and body music. His innovative a cappella vocal arrangements received critical praise in the NY Times. Originator of Cuba’s first tap festival, he has been teaching and performing there since 1998. Among others he worked with Cuba’s top Rumba groups, Chucho Valdés, Lila Downs, Ray Brown, Phil Woods, Paquito D’Rivera, Danilo Perez, shared the stage with Ann Miller, Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Gregory Hines, James Earl Jones, Carl Reiner and Chita Rivera. He is recognized for making classical music more accessible, playing in prestigious venues and festivals in Austria, Germany, France, Canada, the US and Cuba. He has performed as soloist with members of the Vienna, Berlin and New York Philharmonic, London and Montreal Symphony, St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, Les Violons Du Roy, Orchestre Nouvelle Generation, Composer’s Concerdance and more. For such occasions, many internationally acclaimed composers have written orchestral works with tap/percussion parts expressly for Pollak. He is also a recording artist, published writer and on faculty at Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

Jeannette LoVetri, known to her friends as “Jeanie”, is one of the most recognized singing teachers in the world and has taught world wide as an expert in Contemporary Commercial Music. That term, CCM, was created by Ms. LoVetri in 2000 to replace the term “non-classical” and is now in accepted use in academia, research, medical and clinical journals.

Ms. LoVetri is a trained classical soprano who sang at Marble Collegiate Church and Riverside Church in New York, Off-Broadway at the former “Village Gate”, at Lincoln Center under Chapman Roberts of Broadway renown, and at the Henry Street Settlement Theater. She has performed recitals, concerts and solos in classical repertoire and is a frequent guest with the New York City Community Chorus, but continues to also do jazz songs and music theater pieces.

Her students are Grammy winners, Tony-nominated Broadway leads, and jazz stars, and have appeared in the world’s great venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Albert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and on TV, in jazz venues, and in international theaters and concert halls. She worked as Singing Specialist for 20 years with the Grammy-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus and has worked with children, both professional and not, from the beginning of her teaching career in 1971. Ms. LoVetri is the recipient of the Van Lawrence Fellowship, a lifetime achievement award from the NY Singing Teachers’ Association and a citation from the Centro Estudos da Voz in Sao Paulo, where she was a guest lecturer. She is on the Advisory Board of the Voice Foundation in Philadelphia, and has taught in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, London, Florence, Sydney, Perth, Toowoomba (Australia), Sao Paulo, Santiago, and Bogota. She is currently working with a principal in the Broadway show, Anastasia.

Jeanie LoVetri is a long time supporter and mentor of the Jazz Power Initiative. She currently serves on the Advisory Board and previously served on the Board of Directors.

James Zollar began his musical career at age 9 playing bugle in his hometown, Kansas City, Missouri. At 12, he graduated to the trumpet and began to discover his musical voice and focus. In 1984 he moved to New York City and became one of the most expressive and prolific trumpeters in jazz. He has played and recorded The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, Don Byron, Marty Ehrlich, Eddie Palmieri, Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra with Jon Faddis, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Zollar was featured in Robert Altman’s motion picture “Kansas City”, in Madonna’s music video, “My Baby’s Got a Secret, “ as well as Malcolm Lee’s film “The Best Man.” James Zollar’s Cd’s under his own name include “Zollar Systems” in 2010 and “It’s All Good People” in 2013. James has been a teaching artist with Jazz at Lincoln Center for many years and recently joined the team at Jazz Power Initiative.

Bassist and cellist, Jennifer Vincent has been an active force on the jazz and Latin scenes in NYC for the past two decades. She plays, tours, and records with the likes of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Betty carter, Abbey Lincoln, KD Lang, Fantasia, Vanessa Williams, Patti Labelle and the collective, Cocomama.

She had the good fortune to study at the New School with jazz and Latin jazz legends Ron Carter, Vuster Williams, and Andy Gonzales. In 2001, she traveled to Cuba to study with Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez, bassist of the beloved Buena Vista Social Club.

Jennifer is the bassist of Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz At Lincoln center All-Stars that was featured in the hit musical revue “After Midnight” on Broadway. She teaches bass at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy.

Robert Silverman was born in New Haven, Connecticut. and has been playing jazz piano, trumpet, singing and composing for about 47 years. Mr. Silverman was first mentored by the great Jackie McLean in Hartford, and then moved on to study at the New England Conservatory in Boston where he was fortunate to work with George Russell, Jaki Byard, Fred Hersch, Jimmy Guiffre, Ran Blake and many others and graduated from the Jazz Studies Department in 1984. He moved to New York where he did graduate work with Jimmy Heath at Queens College and has been the recipient of many awards including two Meet the Composer Grants and a Brio award in 2013 for Best Jazz Composer for his CD Fractured time. Mr. Silverman has released 12 CDs in NY and works with the elderly population and Alzheimer patients in the Bronx. He is on the Staff of 92nd St Y, and will soon be teaching at the Duke Ellington School in NYC.

Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax was born in Philadelphia but now lives in Brooklyn, New York where he teaches Trap Drum Set Concepts at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University. He received his B.A. in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Cook was the drummer for the late great jazz vocalist Little Jimmy Scott for 14 years up until his death in 2014. He has also played with Kevin Eubanks, Johnny Copeland, Savion Glover, Eartha Kitt, Rachell Ferrell and saxophonist Illinois Jaquet. Mr. Broadnax has recorded with actress/model/singer Vanessa Williams, Jimmy Scott, Vanessa Rubin and Grammy Award winner Johnny Copeland. Mr. Broadnax performed in the blockbuster-hit Spike Lee movie Malcolm X and recently appeared on the hit television show Madame Secretary on CBS. Drummer for Concord church for over ten years, his self produced debut CD is entitled Finally Mine.  Cook is the proud father of 2 children.  

Carolina is the first Colombian to be part of the roster of recording musicians from the prestigious New York music label, Sunny Side Records. Since her selection for the 2011 Mary Lou Williams Woman in Jazz Festival for outstanding artists, Carolina brought attention at The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Legendary pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi described her music as “Extraordinary and Marvelous”.

In 2014 Carolina reaffirms herself to the jazz world with her debut recording, Sotareño, an album released as a collection of instrumental pieces that are at once a part of the jazz tradition but also relate to her roots in Colombia. Sotareño shows fabulous collaborators from the New York Jazz scene, including saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummers Ludwig Afonso and Grammy award musician Antonio Sanchez.

Annette A. Aguilar (multi-percussionist, recording artist, producer and bandleader) was born in San Francisco into a family from Nicaragua. She began playing music at the age of eleven. By the age of 16 she was sitting in and performing with renowned Latin artists from Santana, Cal Tjader and Pete and Sheila Escovedo (Sheila E). She earned a Bachelors in music performance from San Francisco State University, Masters from Manhattan School of Music, and Master in music education at CUNY. She has work on Grammy award winning Broadway shows and symphony orchestras (she is the principal timpanist for the Bronx Symphony). She has toured and shared the stage with Darlene Love, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Tito Puente, Dave Valentine, The Grateful Dead, Mose Allison, Toshi Reagon, Casselberry-Dupree, and many TOP New York City Pop, Jazz and Latin groups. In 1992, she formed her Latin and Brazilian jazz group, Annette A. Aguilar & StringBeans, and the group has released three Cds to wide acclaim.  Ms. Aguilar has been selected three times as Latin Jazz Ambassador for the U.S State Department, the Kennedy Center and Jazz @Lincoln Center and has toured Southern Africa and Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar (Where she performed for President Ravalomanana). Ms. Aguilar has always been involved in nurturing the next generation and has been running a music program in the South Bronx for twenty years in addition to serving on the faculties of Jazz Power Initiative, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Celia Cruz High School of Music and Lehman College. 

A streetwise New York City native born and raised in Washington Heights, saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin has become one of the most highly sought-after players in jazz, soul and funk music. She first picked up the saxophone at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, after which she joined the renowned jazz program at New York’s New School University. By that time she was already playing with renowned jazz figures like Clark Terry and Reggie Workman, which led to gigs and tours with a wide array of artists such as Rashied Ali, the David Murray Big Band, Vanessa Rubin and James “Blood” Ulmer. With her deep jazz roots, she was soon in demand as an arranger and horn section leader, landing stints with such acclaimed artists as Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, the Roots, and Anita Baker. Her debut CD as a bandleader is unconventional soul/funk album RETOX.  Benjamin has also had the honor of performing at the White House at President Obama’s inaugural ball. She’s performed on four continents and her extensive recording credits include saxophone and arrangements for Santigold, Maurice Brown, the Clark Terry Big Band, Krystle Warren and Talib Kweli, among others.  

Tom Dempsey has performed and/or recorded with a virtual “Who’s Who” of world renowned jazz musicians including: Wynton Marsalis, George Coleman, Kenny Barron, Roy Haynes and Bobby McFerrin. Currently he is Professor of Music at LaGuardia Community College and on the faculty at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has authored several books on jazz guitar and filmed hundreds of instructional videos inspiring students across the globe. 

Shireen Dickson has been Jazz Power Initiative/The Jazz Drama Program choreographer-in-residence since the year 2000. She has worked in dance and arts education for over 20 years – as a performer, teaching artist, lecturer, curriculum developer, and NYC Dept of Education classroom teacher.  She spent 10 years performing with and assisting award-winning choreographer Dianne McIntyre at renowned performance venues, dance and jazz festivals throughout the country.  In addition to currently directing the 25-year old Okra Dance Company (which presents programs featuring African American vernacular and world rhythmic and folk dances) Shireen has developed programs and presented for a diverse range of institutions including NY Dance Parade, Elizabeth Streb, Pilobolus, National Black Arts Festival, and United Federation of Teachers. Shireen is a founding member of the Collegium for African Diaspora Dance based at Duke University and directs their bi-annual international conference. 

Brian Fender is a multi talented performer, actor, musician and teaching artist. He joined Jazz Power Initiative after learning Jazz foundations and history from Eli Yamin at Marymount Manhattan College. He appeared in Spike Lee’s Blackkklansman and Netflix’ “The Get Down.” His theatre performances include “The Rebirth of the Rabbit’s Foot” which he performs in New York and recently, Amsterdam. Brian also writes and records his own music and is a fine example of how arts education can transform a young person’s life and is devoted to mentoring, guiding and providing individuals with Jazz and performance tools that will allow one to express themselves more freely and live a happier life.  

James McBride is an author, musician and screenwriter. His landmark memoir, “The Color of Water,” rested on the New York Times bestseller list for two years. Aside from his writing background, James toured as a saxophonist sideman with jazz legend Jimmy Scott, among others. 

He has also written songs (music and lyrics) for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., Pura fe, Gary Burton, and even for the PBS television character “Barney.” He did not write the “I Love You” song for Barney but wishes he did. He received the Stephen Sondheim Award and the Richard Rodgers Foundation Horizon Award for his musical “Bo-Bos” co-written with playwright Ed Shockley.  His  2003 “Riffin’ and Pontificatin’ ” Musical Tour was captured in a nationally televised Comcast documentary. He has been featured on national radio and television in America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He often does his readings accompanied by a band.  

Antoinette Montague has a love of humanity and mission to bring joy to people through music. Known as one of the hardest working women in jazz and blues and named Cedar Grove Jazz and a Blues Entertainer Of The year, Antoinette has played at New York City’s major clubs and concert halls including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kitano, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, and is a regularly featured favorite at the popular Harlem-based Jazz Mobile Concert Series at Marcus Garvey Park’s Richard Rogers Theater and Grants Tomb. Overseas she has performed with the 46-piece Ashdod Orchestra in Israel and the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra in Russia. NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath says, “Antoinette has the instrument, delivery and enunciation, when performing, that touches my soul.” Like Sarah Vaughan, Whitney Houston, James Moody, Melba Moore, Antoinette Montague was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. She was drawn to the music by her mother who was always singing and sounded like Ella Fitzgerald. Montague’s interest was further jump started by her dad. “On Saturdays my dad would drop me off at the Newark Public Library on his way to work. There I would listen to Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.” Years later Montague met up with the renowned Carrie Smith and Etta Jones who became her mentors. “Etta encouraged me. It’s going to be wonderful,” she said. Montague released her first CD, Pretty Blues, in 2006, and Behind The Smile in 2011 featuring renowned pianist Mulgrew Miller, drummer Kenny Washington, saxophonist Bill Easley, and bassist Peter Washington. Her latest acclaimed release is World Peace in the Key of Jazz and features her arrangements of classic songs from the Civil Rights movement. Ms.Montague has appeared on the cover of Hot House, Jazz Improv NY Magazines and on two book covers of Who’s Who in Jazz, Cabaret and Music. 

Catherine Russell is an internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist and Grammy Award winner. She performs at prestigious venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, Yoshi’s in San Francisco and The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Her father Luis Russell served as Louis Armstrong’s musical director for many years, and mother Carline Ray was one of the most in demand bassists throughout her over 50 years in the business. Catherine taught for many years at Berklee School of Music in Boston and gives master classes for Jazz Power Initiative’s youth programs. 

Camille Thurman, saxophonist, vocalist, and composer is a young musician with an impressive list of accomplishments that extend beyond her years. Her lush, velvety, rich & warm sound on the tenor saxophone is steeped in the tradition of tenor greats Joe Henderson and Dexter Gordon and her singing reminiscent of her heroes Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan earning her the respect of audiences in the U.S., Italy, Peru, Russia, and Switzerland. Camille has performed at the Jazz Mobile in Harlem, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, and the International Women in Jazz Festival. She recorded the vocal and saxophone solo on A Healing Song (single) for the Cast CD of Message From Saturn, The Jazz Drama Program 2016 release. 

Dancer/Choreographer Mickey Davidson won an Audelco award for choreography of “For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf” directed by Ntozake Shange. She joined Dianne McIntyre’s ground breaking “Sounds In Motion” in 1975 and danced with the company for eight years. She has worked closely with jazz artists Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, the World Saxophone Quartet and was mentored by original Savoy Ballroom dancers Frankie Manning and Norma Miller. A beloved New York veteran of arts education, Ms. Davidson has an extensive background in African American dance styles and led the African American Dance program at Wesleyan University for 17 years. In addition to teaching with Jazz Power Initiative, she teaches at the Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp in New Orleans and is a passionate advocate for making the authentic jazz dance traditions available to the next generation.