ACADEMIC DIRECTOR:
Sidnie Myrick is a literacy and curriculum specialist, 1996 finalist for California Teacher of the Year, past president of the Glendale Teachers' Association, and recipient of the California Reading Initiative Leadership grant. As Associate Director of the UCLA Writing Project and instructor with UCLA's Teacher Education Program and USC's Rossier School of Education, she has helped design instructional programs for students from kindergarten through university. She holds a Master's Degree in Education from California State University Los Angeles.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
P.K. Candaux is an Emmy-award winning producer of the television series 'Cagney & Lacey', and a former Director of Current Programs at CBS Television Network where she supervised production of prime-time series. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College and has written and produced for stage, film, television, and radio.

LEAD ARTIST-ADVISOR:
Maggie Edmondson is a professional cellist who has performed with the Long Beach Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, L.A. Chamber Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, L.A. Opera, Southwest Chamber Music, Camarata Pacifica and as a recording artist. She holds a Bachelor's of Music Performance from Cal State LA. and maintains a private cello studio in Pasadena.

HUMANITIES ADVISOR:
Daniel Lee

HUMANITIES ADVISOR:
Matthew MacDevitt earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Shimer College, the great books school of Chicago. He became fluent in Spanish while living in Costa Rica, tutored English Learners at the Shimer College Learning Center, and spent several summers counseling at Bay Cliff Health Camp, a therapy program in rural Michigan for children with disabilities.

LATIN & CLASSICS ADVISOR:
Tom Knight holds a Ph.D. in Classics and an MA in Greek, both from the University of California, Berkeley. He taught for six years at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe, and for three years at Chancellor College of the University of Melane, in Zomba, Malawi. His published papers include comparisons between Greek and African myth.

MATH ADVISOR:
Edward Estrada holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a Specialization in Computing from UCLA, an M.A. in Secondary Education from the University of Phoenix, and an M.A. in Educational Administration from Cal State Northridge. He has served on the faculty of the Jaime Escalante Summer Math Program at East Los Angeles College and, as Lead Math Advisor and Department Chair, he directs RenArts' Saturday and Summer Math Intensives.

MATH ADVISOR:
Fabio Altenbach

MATH ADVISOR:
Thijs Randsdorp

SCIENCE ADVISOR:
Dave Nelson holds a Ph.D in Materials Science and Physics and a Masters in Physics, both from Cornell University. His career has spanned 25 years in the Semiconductor Industry and includes research and development for the IBM Watson Research Center, and Rockwell International, and participation in two start-up companies. He has published numerous papers on semiconductor physics, processing, and manufacturing.

SCIENCE ADVISOR :
Rich Furlan holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of Connecticut and an M.S. in Physics and B.S. in Chemistry from Wright State University. He taught college Physics, Chemistry, and Math for over 25 years, including courses at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, University of the Ozarks, and Penn State Erie. He has developed new courses, experiments, and laboratory manuals. His research includes Atomic and Molecular collisions and the use of virtual reality in science education.

BASS/MUSIC THEORY ADVISOR:
William Johnson holds a Masters Degree in Music from the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music and a Bachelor's of Music in Bass Performance from Oberlin Conservatory. He is a studio session player and is affiliated with multiple local orchestras including Southeast Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Riverside Philharmonic, Redlands Symphony and Santa Monica Virtuosi Chamber Ensemble.

VIOLIN ADVISOR:
Julian Hallmark is a graduate of The Julliard School in New York, where he earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance, and served as teaching assistant to Dorothy DeLay for six years. Prior to Julliard, he attended the Yehudi Menuhin School, winning first place in the British Young Artists Competition. He is a co-founder of the Concertante Chamber Players based in New York, was concertmaster of the Dorothy DeLay Orchestra at the Aspen Music Festival, and has performed at the Busan Music Festival in South Korea, the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, the Evian Festival in France, and New Music Live in Finland. He has been a soloist with the Koblenz radio orchestra in Germany, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, and in recital at the festivals of Guanajuato in Mexico and at Fleur de Lis in Montereau, France. He currently maintains a performing career and a private teaching studio in addition to heading the violin department at RenArts.

VIOLIN ADVISOR:
Ella Weiss is a graduate of Baiseitova Music College and Almaty State Conservatory in her native Kazakhstan, completed her Masters Degree in Violin Performance at Cleveland and received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has performed with orchestras across Kazakhstan, Germany, and the U.S., and with international festivals and broadcast media. She teaches privately and at the California College of Music in addition to her work with young violinists at RenArts.

VIOLA ADVISOR :
Sharon Ray is a graduate of the Curtis Institute with a Performance Degree in viola, and also studied violin, viola and tympani at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She has performed with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the New Jersey Symphony, and the Delaware Symphony and is currently affiliated with the Southeast Symphony and the Santa Monica Symphony . She is the author of two books on bass guitar method for Alfred Publishing, and for the past 16 years has served on the faculty of the National Guitar Workshop. She maintains a private teaching practice for viola and bass guitar.

VOCAL ADVISOR:
Yorgos Adamis holds an MFA in Composition from the California Institute of the Arts, an MA in Contemporary Performing Arts from the University of Leeds in England, and a BA in Music from the University of York. His work explores the use of extended vocal and instrumental techniques in experimental contemporary music and improvisation, Greek folk music, Byzantine Chant and choral performance, and in collaborations with video artists, dancers and choreographers. His original compositions have been performed in Greece, England, Ukraine, Russia and across the United States.

PERCUSSION ADVISOR:
Erin Barnes received a BFA in Music Performance, Emphasis on Percussion, from the California Institute of the Arts. She has performed in ensembles ranging from the music of Harry Partch, Steve Reich, and microtonal composer Kraig Grady to traditional African storytelling and Javanese Gamelan. She has taught percussion ensemble, drumline and cello, and currently teaches Ghanaian dance and music to graduate and undergraduate students in the Advanced African Music Ensemble at CalArts.

DANCE SPECIALIST:
Sarri Sanchez received a BA in World Arts and Cultures (Dance) from UCLA. She is a professional dancer and choreographer who was a founding member/company teacher for Holly Johnston’s Ledges and Bones Dance Project, a dancer for Laura Karlin's Invertigo Dance Theatre, and Co-Director of the modern dance company IN/EX Dance Project. She is a member of Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society and a past recipient of the UC Regents Scholarship and National Hispanic Scholar Award. (Dance Department Co-Chair, on sabbatical 2009-10)

Erik Speth holds a BFA in Dance Choreography and Performance from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), an AA in dance from Moorpark College, and is a licensed Pilates instructor. Erik trained at the Paul Taylor Summer Intensive and was selected to participate in the Music and Dance Exchange (MADE) 2006, an interdisciplinary performance laboratory for professional artists and researchers at Dartington College of Arts. He was a founding member of ledges and bones dance project under the artistic direction of Holly Johnston. He currently works with Los Angeles Movement Arts and Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, and is the artistic director of Project Eight DT. (Dance Department Co-Chair)

ART HISTORY SPECIALIST :
John Nelson holds a M.F.A. and B.F.A. from California College of the Arts. John has taught Sculpture, Esthetics and Art History at Marymount College, Saddl back College and California College of the Arts. He has exhibited his work in numerous exhibitions, most recently at Seyhoun Gallery in Los Angeles and has work in noteworthy private collections.

OFFICE MANAGER:
Lisa Springer is a highly trained Administrative Office Specialist with over 18 years of office management experience with Fortune 500 companies. She brings exceptional customer service and project management skills, and is fluent in Spanish with excellent oral and written bi-lingual communication.