New Faces at YA!

We are proud to announce that we have a few new faces here at Young Audiences!

Lindsay Roberts, Arts Education Fellow

Lindsay Roberts, Arts Education Fellow

As YA’s new Arts Education fellow, Lindsay will lead YA’s Adopt-A-School Initiative. Lindsay is also an international teaching artist and educational consultant. Her previous experience includes curriculum development, program planning, and evaluation. She has designed and implemented creative curriculum in Ghana, Germany, India, China, and across the United States. Additionally, Lindsay is an award-nominated actress. She holds a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University.

“Young Audiences offers a wonderful opportunity to provide access to premier arts education programming to students in the region that I call home. My career in the arts has always held quality arts education and access to it as a cornerstone and I am so thrilled to be a part of an pioneering organization with the scaling potential to have maximum reach in the region.

 

I hope to help our school partners create thoughtful and impactful creative experiences for their students that produce both measurable and immeasurable outcomes in their lives.” – Lindsay Roberts

Connect with Lindsay at [email protected].

Joseph Ahmed, Artist Services Fellow

Joseph Ahmed, Artist Services Fellow

Our new Artist Services Fellow is Joseph Ahmed. Apart from his work at YA, he is a teaching artist and performer throughout the tri-state area. He is a member of Barrymore-winning Philadelphia theater company Tribe of Fools, and has performed throughout the region as a member of YA roster artist Almanac Dance Circus Theatre. In 2018 he completed the Teacher’s College Teaching Artist Certification program at Columbia University, and continues his teaching work through the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts and Enchantment Theatre Company. He holds a BFA in Theater Arts from Boston University.

“I’ve been a teacher of theater and circus for years, and YA gave me the opportunity to put that experience to work serving a broad array of students. Through working with YA it quickly became clear to me that YA is a focused and resourceful organization with a ton of commitment to both the schools and teaching artists. It’s very satisfying to get to work for an organization so dedicated to pursuing true excellence in educational programming.

 

My main goal at YA this year is to reach out to new artists who might be interested in joining our roster. I find this an exciting job because I have personally benefitted from the services YA provides and the opportunities it gives teaching artists to do their work. I hope to create stronger feedback loops between existing roster artists and YA, while also bringing in new artists and artforms to continue to expand our roster to be able to serve every child in our area.” – Joseph Ahmed

Connect with Joe at [email protected].

Samantha Clarke, Artists in Education Administrator

Samantha Clarke, Artists in Education Administrator

Samantha has joined the YA team as the new AIE Program Administrator. She is a writer, director, and theatre educator. She attended Philadelphia’s University of the Arts (BFA Acting) and London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (MA Text and Performance). Samantha has had the pleasure of working in and around the Greater Philadelphia and Southeastern PA areas as an actor, director, playwright, and non-profit administrator. Samantha has worked as a teaching artist with the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre and the Yocum Institute for Arts Education, and has recently served as an adjunct professor and theatre director at Pennsylvania State University (Berks) and Montgomery County Community College.

” YA combines my passions into a mission statement: providing young people with access to the arts through the thoughtful and innovative expertise of teaching artists. When I watched the videos tied to AIE and saw the experience the students were having under the instruction of these incredible teaching artists, I knew I had to be involved!

 

My goal is to provide a strong, consistent voice to both the AIE grant and the new APLI program, while finding new partnerships to help each program grow. In addition, I aspire to providing every student we reach a quality arts experience, whether that’s through the professional development of their teachers (APLI) or by working with a resident teaching artist in a long-term residency (AIE).” – Samantha Clarke

Connect with Samantha at [email protected].

Please help us give our new staff members a warm welcome as they help YA continue to strive to reach every child every year with quality arts experiences.