• Arts
  for All
• School
  Districts
• Arts
  Providers
• K-12
  Educators
• Community
• Resources

Arts Education

Staff

Arts for All staff at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission focus on four critical areas: Leadership and Administration, Planning for School Districts, Implementation, and Advocacy, Research, and Development.

The Leadership and Administration Team manages the overall direction, oversight, and expansion of Arts for All strategies and programs. It is responsible for liaising with the Arts for All leadership, engaging stakeholders, cultivating new partners and funders, and representing the program nationally, statewide, and locally.

Staff members and types of inquiries:

Ayanna Hudson, Director of Arts Education

• Arts for All Partnerships
• Arts for All Executive Committee
• Supporting Arts for All and Pooled Fund Membership
• Wallace Grant

Talia Gibas, Arts Education Coordinator

• School District Leadership Fellows Program

Planning staff recruits new school districts to join the initiative, oversees current long-range planning efforts, and serves as a liaison to the California Alliance for Arts Education and planning coaches.

Staff members and types of inquiries:

Kimberleigh Aarn, Senior Planning Manager

• Becoming an Arts for All School District
• Technical Assistance for School Districts
• Arts Education Policies and Plans

The Implementation Team focuses on new strategies to build school districts’ capacity to provide equitable access to quality arts education for students. These strategies include professional development for Arts Coordinators, a School District Leaders’ Fellows Program, and Higher Education Think Tank. The team also manages the Arts for All Teaching Artist Training Program, District Residency Program, and LAArtsEd.org.


Staff members and types of inquiries:

Kristen Engebretsen, Implementation Manager

• Arts Coordinator Professional Development
• Arts for All Coaches Training Program

Megan Kirkpatrick, Implementation Manager

• Arts for All District Residency Program
• LAArtsEd.org Professional Development Handbook and Directory

Elisha Wilson Beach, Implementation Coordinator

• Higher Education Initiative
• LAArtsEd.Org Program Directory and Tools and Resources
• Teaching Artist Training Program
• Arts Education Roundtable

The Advocacy and Research Team is responsible for tracking county-wide infrastructure for arts education through the Arts Education Performance Indicators (AEPI) Report, oversees new strategies to empower advocates to sustain and support equitable access to quality arts education for students, and serves as the liason to Arts for LA. The team also manages new research that measures the progress and impact of the initiative, and development strategies including all funding strategies, grant writing, tracking, and reporting.

Staff members and types of inquiries:

Sofia Klatzker, Senior Advocacy and Research Manager

• AEPI Report
• Arts for All Research
• Community Advocacy Teams
• Case Studies Report

Arts for All staff includes the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), a close partner in this initiative.

Staff member and types of inquiries:

Geraldine Walkup, Visual and Performing Arts Consultant, LACOE

• LACOE Arts Education Policy and Plan
• Arts Education Leadership Series
• Countywide Arts Education Workshops