OUR TEAM
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.
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.
Alana Kohl
BOARD CHAIR
Yinghua Chen
BOARD MEMBER
Michelle Guyot
BOARD MEMBER
Joanna Johnston
BOARD MEMBER
Tim Revero
BOARD MEMBER
Kari Golden
BOARD MEMBER
Coaches
DeLee Lively-Torti
POSITIVELY ARTS DIRECTOR
Maria Rosales
IVY DREAMERS DIRECTOR
Melissa Flaxman
POSITIVELY LEADERS DIRECTOR
Olive Metz
OFFICE MANAGER
Kim Martinez-Depaz
IVY DREAMERS COACH
Faith Torti
IVY DREAMERS COACH
Abe Flores
MOVEMENT COACH
Jenny Barbee
​CRAFTY DANCE COACH/FOUNDER
Board of Directors
Crystal Pantelas-Hemmers
VOCAL & ACTING COACH
Mikael Johnson
COMPLIANCE MANAGER
Emir Rodriguez
SPANISH COACH
Chi Lam
POSITIVELY LEADERS COACH