Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley Staff
"A vibrant community is alive with the arts. Creativity, beauty, and passion are essential features of a thriving society, and the arts ensure those elements are alive. The arts are EVERYWHERE around you from the sounds you hear, the colors you see, the food you eat, and the energy you feel. We MUST continue to provide our children with the opportunity to find their creative artist identity so that our future home is even more vibrant than ours is today. The arts change me, drive me, empower me, and challenge me and I am so thankful I found my identity as a young artist and that I live in a community that believes, supports, and creates art for the youngest members of our community!!"
-J.R. Snow, Executive Director |
"I'm grateful for the opportunities I had in the arts as a child - they instilled a confidence and curiosity that has been woven into the fabric of my life. The arts enrich, excite, and enable people of all walks of life to exchange ideas, imagine, and connect in a creative process; in short, the arts transform lives and help build a more vibrant community. I'm proud to support the important work of Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley, encouraging all children to find their voice through the arts." - Sarah Orem, Outreach and Advocacy Manager
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Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley Board of Directors
"The arts are vital to us as humans. We need them for connection, for understanding, for reflection. I support Any Given Child because live arts performances can spark so many emotions inside of us. I love what Ethan Hawke said about the arts: “Do you think human creativity matters? Well, most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about poetry, right? They have a life to live and they’re really not that concerned with Allen Ginsberg’s poems or anyone’s poems—until, their father dies; they go to a funeral; you lose a child; someone breaks your heart. And all of a sudden you’re desperate for making sense out of this life. ‘Has anybody felt this bad before? How did they come out of this cloud?’ Or the inverse—something great. You meet somebody and your heart explodes—you love them so much you can’t even see straight. You’re dizzy. ‘Did anybody feel like this before? What is happening to me?’ And that’s when art’s not a luxury—it’s actually sustenance. We need it.” I am honored to serve on the board of AGC as we work to make arts experiences- and all the healing and awe that come with it- accessible to all children of the Shenandoah Valley."
-Jerri Alley |
"As a child, I was fortunate to have experiences in the performing arts that helped me grow confidence, relationships, and an appreciation for the arts as a whole - all of which helped shape my path into adulthood. As a parent and educator, I have worked to foster arts experiences for my own children and students, understading that the arts have the power to impact every human at some level. I am honored to serve the Any Given Child Board by supporting opportunities for arts exposure in our schools and community."
-Jackie Baker |
"I have a background in social work and a deep passion for supporting children, families, and communities. I believe every child deserves access to the arts as an essential part of their growth and education. I look forward to helping expand
opportunities, strengthen equity, and ensure that creativity is accessible to all students. I am excited to collaborate with fellow board members and community partners to help advance important mission." - Akiel Baker |
"In my life, arts education helped nurture essential skills like creativity, critical thinking, and emotional expression. I’m excited to work with Any Given Child to instill these values across the Shenandoah Valley and provide the equitable access to the arts that all children deserve." -Catherine Britt
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"I cannot imagine my life without Art. Art is what brings us together and helps us see the world through a multi-faceted and beautiful lens. Live performance and visual art allow us to experience different stories and viewpoints, and to collaboratively share in the human experience. Art moves us to explore a vast array of emotions, learn from others, embrace difference and diversity, and view our past, our present and our future in illuminating ways. Art is what survives from generation to generation allowing us to hope and dream for the future."
-Regan Byrne |
"I hold a deep personal belief in the power of the arts to inspire, connect, and transform lives. This conviction was born from my own childhood, where I was fortunate to attend live symphony performances, musicals, and ballets, and to participate in my school’s music programs. These pivotal moments ignited a lifelong passion and inspired my journey to a career in music education. As a teacher, I now see the transformative power of the arts, firsthand, every day. I believe every student deserves access to the magic and inspiration that live performances can provide. I am excited to serve with Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley to help ensure that all students have access to the meaningful arts experiences that foster creativity, confidence, and lifelong learning." - Jacqui Clifford
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"The arts and music have been a lifelong passion for me, instilled by my mother and nurtured through my involvement in school choruses and musicals. I've continued to share this love with my three sons, fostering their musical talents from a young age. Providing all children with the opportunity to explore and embrace the arts is essential for their growth and development as individuals. It is through the arts that we discover our creative identities and learn to appreciate diverse perspectives. As a member of the Any Given Child Board, I'm dedicated to advocating for arts and music education, knowing firsthand the transformative power it holds in shaping well-rounded and empathetic individuals. Together, we can ensure that all children have equitable access to these transformative experiences." -Ashley Gordon-Becker
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"The arts and creativity have been integral to growth in all aspects of my life. Learning to think and act creatively has allowed me to better handle difficulties, express myself authentically, connect with others, and experience immense freedom. I am excited to join in the work that Any Given Child is doing to ensure that every student has the opportunity to experience their own personal connection with the arts. I firmly believe that it will create benefits that will impact the entire community, both now and in the future." - Jeff Guinn
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“Art has been a constant in my life, whether it is in big ways or small ways. It can ground us, make us dream, help us feel joy and connect us as people. It is an honor to be a part of an organization and a team that is committed to the work of getting children in our community access to the arts." -Jen Yoo Gulliver
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“Making art is essential to remind us of our common humanity and our position in the world and the universe. Connecting to our community through the arts is so important, especially for young people. In my role as Professor of Music at JMU, I work to facilitate spaces where students can connect and create. I am honored to be a part of the amazing world that Any Given Child does to help bring arts experiences to students in the Harrisonburg/Rockingham area.”
- Bryce Hayes |
"As I grew up, the arts were a constant source of inspiration, joy, and even strength for me as I navigated into adulthood. I find that, while I did not necessarily blossom into a specific artistic talent, my experiences with and access to the arts still shaped my confidence, creativity, and curiosity. When I became a mother, the ability for my own child to have the chance to experience the arts took on a whole new appeal for me. Getting to see specific opportunities for my son to engage in the arts as a direct result of the work of Any Given Child is one of the many reasons that I am excited to join the board and support this mission to bring rich, meaningful opportunities to the students in our community. I want every child to have the chance to discover their own artistic strengths and feel the magic of creating something that is unique and special to them. Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley plays a vital role in this process by making the arts accessible to all students, and I’m honored to support them as they help to nurture the next generation of creative thinkers." - Priscilla House
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As an art educator, I love witnessing how art can break down language barriers, spark creativity, foster problem-solving, and inspire collaboration. Visual and performing arts play a vital role in helping children feel seen and heard, while also teaching them meaningful and unique ways to express themselves. Any Given Child is essential to our community, ensuring equitable access to arts education and supporting the creative development of every student." - Laura-Paige Keller
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"I grew up in Appalachia, where access to the arts might have been limited. But I was very fortunate to have opportunities in theater and band programs that broadened my horizons in ways I couldn’t have imagined at the time. Those experiences shaped who I am, taught me how to express myself, and truly laid the groundwork for much of my identity today. That’s why I feel such deep gratitude that my own children have been able to participate in theater, music, and other creative activities—often at little or no cost—thanks to the efforts of Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley. It’s inspiring to see more kids, regardless of their background, get to experience that same spark I was lucky enough to feel as a kid." - Bridget Manley
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“ I was fortunate to have parents who valued the arts and ensured that our family experienced many live arts experiences throughout my childhood. The same was true for my husband and I as we raised our children and now that is continuing with our grandson. All of our lives are richer because of the arts! As a former special education educator, I continually looked for arts-related opportunities for my students. The result was students were better able to connect with academic concepts, became more self-aware, found ways to more effectively express themselves, exuded more confidence in risk-taking and self-advocacy, and found great joy while discovering their personal styles of creativity. I'm so grateful to live in a community that supports and values the arts and to be a part of providing live arts experiences to students in our area through my involvement with Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley.” - Jill Martorana
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I was captivated by the arts at an early age and managed to touch every facet as a student. I later understood how those transferable skills made me a better person, community member, and professional. Every child deserves those foundational experiences and Any Given Child is an amazing way to invest in the education of today's students."- Chris Meyers
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"I would not have the life I have now if it were not for the arts education I got in my public schools growing up. From the choir that I traveled with to New York City from my small Vermont town in middle school, to the life-long friends I made doing musicals in high school, to the elementary string program that led to two degrees in music performance and a professional career as a violist - public arts education has shaped me as a person, an educator, and a parent. Having the opportunity to serve Any Given Child to ensure that this next generation of Virginia students has exposure to a comprehensive and diverse arts education is a personal honor and privilege."
-Katie Overfield-Zook |