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OUR TEAM

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Pilita Simpson

FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The Founder of Positively Arts, Pilita Simpson currently holds an Education Master's Degree in Arts in Education from Harvard University. Pilita has worked for such amazing companies as Sesame Workshop and Walt Disney before founding this 501(c)(3) nonprofit. She believes that the best way to nurture young, developing minds is to engage the emotion-center of the brain (the limbic system), thereby attaching an emotional response to new information, making it more easily retained and recalled in the future. Arts integration enhances cognition and provides our youth with the tools for self-expression and confidence building. She is continuing her work to strengthen a child’s education and social-emotional development through her reinvented curriculum and design, woven into all of Positively Arts' programming. 

 

​Pilita worked as the Director of New Media and Learning Technology for The Public Education Foundation in Las Vegas where she developed a passion for serving children in and through the arts. She uses arts-integration models to enhance learning and raise student achievement, while using the arts to empower, inspire, educate, and heal. Beyond her arts and education background, Pilita is an active member of Actors’ Equity Association for over 20 years, having performed around the world as a vocalist, actress, and emcee for Disney and other professional companies. Pilita is passionate about giving young people the tools and skillsets necessary to become confident and resilient adults who go on to be leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. She is confident that youth raised in an arts-enriched environment are best set up to succeed in this ever-changing world.

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Clint Holmes

DIRECTOR OF ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

Clint Holmes serves as the Director of Artist Development for Positively Arts.  His 40-plus year career has taken him from the top of the charts, to concert halls, on TV screens, and cemented his legacy as a veritable Las Vegas institution.

 

His big break came in 1972 when he released “Playground In My Mind," a song that stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 23 weeks. In addition to hosting his own Emmy Award-winning talk/variety show, Clint was a musical feature and event correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, and served as Joan Rivers’ sidekick and announcer on FOX’s The Late Show.

 

Throughout his 40+ year career, Clint has received many accolades—most recognizably, he received the highest honor of a GRAMMY® nomination for his album, Rendezvous. Produced by eight-time Grammy Award-winner Gregg Field, the sophisticated album offers a diverse playlist that reinterprets modern day and classic pop hits, Jazz, soulful R&B, theatrical tunes, and numbers culled from the Great American Songbook.

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Clint is a consummate entertainer, writer, performer, recording artist, and one of the country’s finest vocalists. Whether he is singing selections from contemporary classics or stirring original pieces, every performance is a one-of-a-kind, mesmerizing, and unforgettable experience.

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Alana Kohl

BOARD CHAIR

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Yinghua Chen

BOARD MEMBER

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Michelle Guyot

BOARD MEMBER

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Joanna Johnston

BOARD MEMBER

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Tim Revero

BOARD MEMBER

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Jen Bamboa

BOARD MEMBER

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Kari Golden

BOARD MEMBER

Coaches

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DeLee Lively-Torti

POSITIVELY ARTS DIRECTOR

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Maria Rosales

IVY DREAMERS DIRECTOR

Melissa Flaxman

POSITIVELY LEADERS DIRECTOR

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Olive Metz

OFFICE MANAGER

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Kim Martinez-Depaz

IVY DREAMERS COACH

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Faith Torti

IVY DREAMERS COACH

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Ehrlich Ocampo

CIRCUS ARTS COACH

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Jenny Barbee

​CRAFTY DANCE COACH/FOUNDER

Board of Directors

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Crystal Pantelas-Hemmers

VOCAL & ACTING COACH

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Mikael Johnson

COACH

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Emir Rodriguez

SPANISH COACH

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Chi Lam

POSITIVELY LEADERS COACH

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