Meet Our Team
Jessica Espinoza, Ed.D
Jessica Espinoza brings a unique perspective to education through her experiences teaching K-5 general education, intermediate grades in the area of performing arts, as well as pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and working with a variety of arts organizations and school districts. Jessica has worked teaching and consulting for various organizations during her career, including Harvard Project Zero, the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Center for Puppetry Arts, GA Department of Education, Dr. Tim Elmore’s Growing Leaders, Young Audiences, Savannah College of Art & Design, ArtsNow Learning, GA Tech CEISMC, and Cobb Energy Center’s Arts Bridge.
Dr. Espinoza is a professor at the University of North Georgia in the graduate school for Curriculum & Instruction. Her most recent Ed. D research studied teacher efficacy using arts integration, specifically focusing on the impact of arts-based formative assessments in the general education classroom. She is also reading endorsed, certified in elementary education, and holds a Masters in Educational Theatre from City College of New York.
When Jessica is not teaching, she loves to create theatre for young audiences! She specializes in writing family productions for symphony orchestras and theaters. The resident playwright and producer for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Education programs, here is a library of concerts she has created. Jessica has also created a library of elementary STEAM musicals for youth performers that have been produced and enjoyed in K-8 school settings across the country.
Pytron Parker
Pytron Parker is a Georgia native, who has built a life around the performing arts. She has been changing artists' lives for over 17 years through dance education, costume design, artist development, and storytelling. Pytron has a knack for inspiring upcycling movements in communities and inspiring artists of all ages to find their “inner designer” with a deep connection to storytelling and self-expression. Pytron’s performance experiences include A Christmas Carol, West Side Story, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, White Christmas, In The Heights, Ragtime, Hairspray, Singin’ in the Rain, Intimate Apparel, and For Colored Girls. Pytron starred as Maria, Lady in Waiting, and The Queen in The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience in Atlanta, GA (Netflix, Shondaland & Fever). Pytron has worked professionally for theatrers across the nation including Flatrock Playhouse, Mill Mountain Theatre, Cumberland County Playhouse, Alliance Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, Aurora Theatre, Gainesville Theatre Alliance, and toured nationally with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. Some of her highlights included traveling the world directing national dance competitions and teaching dance and drama abroad at Varee International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Pytron attended Brenau University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre with a minor concentration in dance. PytronParker.com @payparker
Dr. Catherine Rosa
Catherine Rosa is an international presenter and educational consultant. She was a school leader in P-12 education for 19 years working in high-poverty schools with diverse students. She led a team to open an arts integration charter school back in 2008 which is still engaging in this effective pedagogy. She was an Assistant Professor and Coordinator for the Educational Leadership Program at University of North Georgia from 2015 to 2021 designing and implementing the TIER I and TIER 2 certification programs. For over 20 years, she has taught arts integration, curriculum and instruction, and educational leadership in graduate programs and currently consults with districts and schools in these areas of expertise. She holds an doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Georgia, an M.B.A. from Brenau University, and a B.A. in Art with minors in Psychology and English from Mercer University. She is certified in Educational Leadership, ESOL, Early Childhood Education, and Art Education P-12 in the state of Georgia.
Amy Kirkland
Amy Kirkland has more than twenty-five years of experience as a performing arts educator, manager, producer, and performer. She has worked with leading arts organizations across the U.S., including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, Disney Imagicademy, Opera America, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and the Colburn School. In a variety of leadership roles and as an independent consultant, she leads in-depth arts partnerships with schools and community organizations; produces interactive educational concerts; develops digital learning resources for teachers and parents; and engages educational leaders in collaborative action research. In addition, she has taught private voice lessons and music theatre classes for young people of all ages. Amy graduated from Samford University with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and New York University with a Master of Arts in Educational Theatre.
Precious West
Precious West is a teaching artist, choreographer and performer. Professional experience include Choreography: ACTOR’S EXPRESS: Hedwig & the Angry Inch, Urinetown, Heathers The Musical. OUT FRONT THEATRE: Red: A Crayon's Musical, Christmas Dearest. Performance: The Prom, Desire Under The Elms, The Color Purple. REGIONAL: The Polar Express Train Ride (Warner Bros./Rail Events). EDUCATION: BFA Musical Theatre, Brenau University (Gainesville Theatre Alliance); MBA Marketing, Brenau University. FILM/TV: Respect / Aretha Stunt Double (Respect Productions LLC), FattMerchant Commercial / Concierge (Elevate Media), The Vampire Diaries (The CW). Follow her theatrical journey: @gangstapresh www.preciouswest.com
Laurin Dunleavy
Laurin Dunleavy is an arts integration specialist with a focus on K-12 Teacher Professional Development and Teaching-Artistry. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Brenau University and a M.Ed in Arts Integration from Lesley University. Laurin is passionate about using arts modalities and integrative techniques in the classroom to motivate and teach across all curriculums. When working with Laurin, teachers receive curated strategies for implementing arts integrated lessons directly into their current curriculum and pedagogy. Laurin has worked teaching and consulting for various organizations during her career, including the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum Art, Georgia Department of Education, The Penguin Project, Arts for Learning, Young Audiences, ArtsNow Learning, The FoCAL Center, The Woodruff Arts Center and Boys & Girls Club.
Laurin resides in North Georgia where she uses her love of performing arts to develop and support inclusive programming for youth and adults. She directed & choreographed for The Penguin Project, a nationally recognized program in which students with special needs and disabilities star in a musical production. She leads creative movement with Happy Hearts students and Gentle Souls adults of CFUMC. Laurin also serves on the board as the North Georgia Director for DEGAS (Dance Educators of Georgia).
Shannon Green
Shannon Green comes to us as a former museum educator at the High Museum of Art where she worked with students and teachers to integrate visual art into curriculum and promote visual literacy and STEAM. She has classroom teaching experience working with 3rd - 5th graders at Montessori school in Cobb County. Shannon has worked with schools and districts across the southeast integrating visual literacy skills into classroom practices. Most recently, she has been leading an innovation lab with middle school teachers for three years facilitating visual arts integration and unit planning.
She is the co- founder of the Indie Craft Experience, a local organization that has produced maker markets in Atlanta featuring hundreds of local, regional, and national artists. These markets have helped launch and grow hundreds of small businesses. Indie craft Experience has been featured in Creative Loafing, Atlanta Magazine, BuzzFeed, Apartment Therapy, and Design Sponge.
Shannon is a practicing visual artist and has created installations for Art on the BeltLine in Atlanta, Dashboard Co-op and Flux Projects. She is currently merging science and art through the process of creating natural pigments and paints from native rocks and plants.
Shannon received her bachelor's degree in psychology and studio art from the University of West Georgia. She received Montessori training and certification through the National Center for Montessori Education. She is passionate about working with students and teachers to create meaningful connections through the arts.
Megan Williamson
Megan Reeves Williamson is a mixed-media vintage book collage artist & instructor in Roswell, GA. She has been in the education field since 2004, having started her career as an elementary art teacher and continuing to present day as an instructor for both children and adults at various art centers around metro Atlanta, including the Roswell Visual Arts Center and the Spruill Center for the Arts. Reeves Williamson holds BFAs from the University of Georgia in Drawing & Painting and Art Education. She has exhibited her collages at local and national galleries, as well as artist markets. Her art influences include Cy Twombly, Joseph Cornell, and Radcliffe Bailey. You can find more of her work on Instagram @juxtaposed_art_studio
Nora Frankovich
Nora Frankovich is an actor and producer whose career spans over twenty years between the theatre, film, and television industries. A Wisconsin native, her career in entertainment took her to Los Angeles where she worked continually as an actor on stage and on camera, as well as in production over thirteen years before moving to Atlanta to continue her work in a place that has seasons. As an actor, Nora’s performed a variety of roles but was always focused on classical theatre and Shakespeare, working regularly on stage with companies such as A Noise Within, Santa Clarita Shakespeare, and Parson’s Nose Theatre. Shakespeare credits include The Tempest, Romeo & Juliet, As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, and Henry VI Part 1. She has BA’s in acting and film/television production from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and is in process of her Master’s degree with MBU/American Shakespeare Center in Shakespeare & Performance.
Nora is currently in the process of opening a classical theatre company in Roswell, GA that will produce innovative, immersive productions of Shakespeare and other classical plays for today’s contemporary audiences. She believes that these stories share universal human experiences and are incredibly relevant to the world in which we live today. For this reason, they should be performed in a way which not only engages audiences, but also utilizes contemporary materials and technologies to embrace storytelling in today’s world.