YA Talent Update!

Young Audiences NJ & Eastern Pennsylvania is pleased to introduce new staff who will bolster the organization’s ability to meet its mission to inspire young people and expand their learning through the arts.

Summer Dawn (she/ella) defies multi-hyphenation as a writer, director, actor, teaching artist and more! Summer has joined us as our new Artist Services Manager. In this role, Summer develops and maintains productive work relationships with the YA roster of teaching artists, leading recruitment, training, and community building efforts. Summer continues to inspire students through the arts as a teaching artist for YA, Lincoln Center Theatre, and Storytelling Arts. The Jersey City-based artist is also the founder/director of In Full Color, an arts organization which empowers BIPOC artists and has received two commendations from the NJ State Assembly and the Jersey City Arts Council’s Performing Arts Award. She’s a two-time winner of the NJ Governor’s Award in Arts Education and sings pop-R&B as Vero Verano.

Kerri Ann Munoz (she/her) has joined Young Audiences as Development Manager, where she contributes to fundraising strategies, and board engagement initiatives. An experienced arts administrator, Kerri started her journey with the establishment of the Simone Says Dance Academy in South Florida in 2014, an initiative tailored for after-school care students to introduce them to classical dance training and ignite inspiration through the performing arts. Relocating to New Jersey in 2020, she continued her advocacy for dance education and understanding of diversity and inclusion, nurtured through direct relationships with students and families in her program. In addition to her role at YA, she is also the Director of Dance Education and Dance to Learn Coordinator for Dance New Jersey, entrusted with the mission to cultivate partnerships and programs for K-12 dance education throughout New Jersey.

*Camera Shy* June Shanahan (they/them), Arts Education Administrator, is a new member of the Young Audiences Education Team! They support YA’s Arts Lab, APLI, and the Arts In Education Residency Grant Programs, doing significant “behind the scenes” work to support success. They also contribute to YA’s DEIA efforts as part of our Arts United staff working group. Prior to YA, June worked with a non-profit organization serving the rural houseless community in Vermont and with a poetry publisher based in Brooklyn, NY. They studied Creative Writing and Critical Theory at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and are a life-long learner, songwriter, and advocate for the arts.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome these talented and collaborative individuals to the Young Audiences staff! Just as important as the teaching artists who work directly with students in schools across our region, our staff is critical to program development and coordination, fundraising, administration, and maintaining focus on our commitment to equity. In a tough hiring environment, it’s a big win to have these stellar folks on our team!” states Michele Russo, President & CEO

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