EDUCATIONAL THEATRE COMPANY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- in 2006 As a Camp Assistant
Ashley Hammond joined Educational Theatre Company in 2006 as a camp assistant and after school teaching artist. During this time, she created ETC's ESOL programming in elementary schools, established and directed the first SOL based original play model at Carlin Springs Elementary, founded ETC's Page to Stage Camp, as well as directed several McKinley Main Stage Residencies. In addition to teaching, she soon began working administratively for the company as the Director of Arts Partnerships until 2014 when she became Managing Director and the first full time employee. Prior to joining ETC, Hammond received her BFA in Acting at the University of Kentucky in 2003 and toured with various children's theatres performing and teaching all over the eastern part of the country, including The Virginia Stage Company, Cincinnati Children's Theatre, and Lexington Children's Theatre. In addition to ETC, Hammond teaches and directs youth classes and plays at the Little Theatre of Alexandria, and teaches public speaking classes at Georgetown University's Continuing School of Education.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chairman of the Marketing Committee
- Vice President of Operations at CHANGE
Brian Smith is currently the Vice President of Operations at CHANGE (Center for Health and Gender Equity). Prior to joining CHANGE, Brian served as chief administrative officer for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (UUCA) where he oversaw a $6.8 million construction project to refurbish and expand the church's buildings. Prior to his work at UUCA, Brian held leadership roles at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., where he was instrumental in its growth from a small garage theatre to the national epicenter of challenging new plays. Brian holds a B.A. in Theater Arts from George Mason University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governance Committee
- Governance Committee
Catherine is a Systems Engineer and Program Manager, with a deep commitment to Agile methodologies. Professionally, she has 30+ years of experience leading teams and delivering software products.
Her family has been involved with theatre since her son's sophomore year of HS (2006-7), when he did not get into a music elective and was "forced" to take Theatre, discovering his passion. Since then they have been members and supporters of small and large Theatre in the Baltimore-DC area.
Job Titles:
- Governance Committee
- New Board Member for ETC
Claire Ruggiero is excited to serve as a new board member for ETC! She is a general music teacher for Arlington Public Schools and loves to educate, inspire, and instill her love of music and the arts to her students. Originally from Indiana, Claire received her Bachelors of Music Education degree from Ball State University in 2014 and has lived in Virginia for almost four years. She grew up in the performing arts and understands first hand the impact of theater arts and its many lifelong benefits, skills learned, and positive experiences. Claire is looking forward to continuing the work of ETC as a board member and advocate for the company!
Job Titles:
- Finance Committee
- Vice President of Finance and Operations for Arcland Property Company
Darla is Vice President of Finance and Operations for Arcland Property Company, a real estate development and development company, and Self Storage Plus Management Company, a self storage property manager. She is a Certified Public Accountant with 30 years of finance and management experience. Darla has a comprehensive background that also includes business operations reporting and strategic planning. She previously served as CFO with Global Telesourcing, a sales process outsourcing company with a call center in Mexico and as Director of Finance with Fishbowl, a leading provider of email marketing solutions for the restaurant industry. She started her career in public accounting with Deloitte in Chicago. Darla also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, Africa where she taught at the Malawi College of Accountancy. She received a BS from Ball State University. Darla lives with her family in Arlington and enjoys traveling to far off places, running and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Marketing Committee
- Artist
- Artistic Director and Co - Founder of Convergence Theatre
- Development Committee
Elena Velasco (she/ella) is a theatre artist whose work encompasses many aspects of performance, production, activism and education. She firmly believes that through a redefined actor-audience relationship and a "multilingual" approach to performance, theatre can be the catalyst for change and identifying intersections in humanity. During her 25 year career she has devoted her time equally between performance and residency work. She teaches and creates theatre through the lens of community engagement and education throughout the DC metro area, with a focus on Title 1, migrant and disinvested communities.
Ms. Velasco is the Artistic Director and Co-founder of Convergence Theatre, a multidisciplinary performance collective that creates work centered on social justice, grounded in decolonized, consensus-organized processes and structures. Her directing and choreography credits include Convergence Theatre, Synetic Theater, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Adventure Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Imagination Stage, Mead Theatre Lab, Young Playwrights' Theater, Capital Fringe, Source Theatre, Discovery Theater, Catholic University and the Kennedy Center's New Visions New Voices Festival. She has choreographed for Avant Bard, Theatre J, Mosaic Theatre Company, and Keegan Theatre. Ms. Velasco has been a member of SAG/AFTRA and AEA, and has performed at the Kennedy Center, Theatre Alliance, NextStop Theatre, Discovery Theatre, Imagination Stage, and in several films, commercials, and TV shows. She currently serves as the Co-Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access for the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, on the advisory board of Carpe Diem Arts, and has provided consultation for EDIA in theatre programming for organizations such as Theatre Washington, Women's Theatre Festival of North Carolina, Gandhi Brigade, and Southeastern Theatre Conference. She has been a featured speaker for Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Montgomery College, The Actors' Center of DC, and Theatre Washington. Ms. Velasco is the theatre production coordinator and a tenure-track professor of theatre arts at Bowie State University.
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Director of New Media
Josh Rosenblum worked as an actor, designer, and educator in the DC area from 2009 to 2019. After joining ETC, Josh worked on the Shakespeare in the Schools program, after school classes, ETC-on-Film, and directed several camps. His focus has always been comedy and improvisation in both teaching and performance, with a strong emphasis on storytelling. He was also a member of Now This! musical improv troupe and a Theatre & Film teacher at H-B Woodlawn before moving to Orlando, FL to pursue more performance opportunities while still working for ETC remotely as Director of New Media.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Development Committee
- Development Committee
Kathy was asked to join the ETC Board after retiring from full-time teaching at McKinley Elementary in 2016. Now she is a grateful grandmother, and enthusiastic community volunteer.
As a Kindergarten teacher Kathy saw firsthand how "arts change lives." ETC workshops held in the classroom allowed students to integrate STEM concepts using arts. The ETC productions and classes helped students develop concept of self and grow in self-confidence.
Job Titles:
- Director of Development / Director of Curriculum Development
Katie McCreary began working with ETC mere days after moving to the DC-area from Atlanta. While in Atlanta, she spent four years teaching high school technical theater and design, working as the Production Manager for Georgia Shakespeare (where she is also an Associate Artist), and teaching at The Center for Puppetry Arts. When not working with ETC, Katie continues to work as a freelance Lighting Designer in both the DC and Atlanta areas (select companies include Rorschach Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Synchronicity Performance Group, and 7Stages). She spends her summers on beautiful Lake Chautauqua as Production Manager for Chautauqua Theater Company. Katie carries degrees in both Theater and Elementary Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Member of the Governance Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of After School Programming
- ETC As a Teaching Artist
KJ Moran Velz joined ETC as a teaching artist in 2022 and is thrilled to join the staff as Director of After School Programming. She has taught theatre to all ages across the DMV since 2019, including at Imagination Stage, Keegan Theatre, and Young Playwrights' Theater. She believes theatre education and TYA programming equip children and adults alike with the fundamental tools of empathy, compassion, and connection. Through exploration, play, and creation, KJ hopes her students will discover new ways of processing and communicating their emotions and experiences. In addition to teaching, KJ is a New England-grown playwright, performer, and educator now based in Alexandria, VA whose work has been performed at the Kennedy Center, Imagination Stage, Flying V, Rorschach Theatre, Adventure Theatre MTC, and Theater Alliance. KJ also studied Spanish and Theater and Performance Studies at Georgetown University. She aspires to continue cultivating a playwriting and educating practice based in understanding and community through the power of storytelling.
For more than 15 years, Robert has been working with Civilian agencies across the Federal government to deliver high-impact solutions and improve the interactions between citizens and government. He is a firm believer in the growth mindset and continual learning.
Robert's son participated in ETC in the Winter of 2022, and he saw a side of him that he never knew existed. He is passionate about ETC's mission and helping this organization grow and reach more diverse populations in the DC area.
Samantha is a long time supporter of ETC. Her relationship with ETC began about 13 years ago when she started teaching in their after school program. Later she became their production manager and worked many residency productions at both McKinley and Tuckahoe Elementary. Samantha helped start ETC Beginnings- ETC's first preschool drama program. She created and lead ETCB summer camps for many years.
Samantha has been a preschool teacher at Temple Rodef Shalom Nursery school for 13 years. She enjoys spending her days with the "little ones" and coming home to her "big guys"- her two teenage boys and her husband.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Member of the Development Committee
- Co - Founder of SplitOak Strategies
- Finance Committee
Sarah joined the ETC Board after watching her children blossom in ETC plays and camps and learn hands-on the values of creativity, confidence, community and collaboration that ETC's programs instill.
Sarah is a Co-Founder of SplitOak Strategies, a bipartisan consulting and lobbying firm focused on federal health care policy. Earlier in her career, Sarah spent 15 years on Capitol Hill working on health care, tax, budget and appropriations matters for two members of the Senate Finance Committee. She worked extensively on the Affordable Care Act and major budget legislation. Sarah holds a B.A. in History and Public Affairs from the University of Denver and a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. She lives in Arlington with her native Arlingtonian husband and two children.
Job Titles:
- Actor, Writer
- Director of Shakespeare in the Schools
Scott Abernethy is an actor, writer, and educator who first settled in DC in 2015. A year later he joined ETC as a teaching artist with Shakespeare in Schools. Over the years he expanded that role steadily, serving as a director for comedy, improv, and sketch summer camps, fight choreographer for summer Shakespeare, and director for multiple school productions. Scott encourages his students to take "risk, fail, and risk again!" in their approach to acting, and to use the power of words. He believes Shakespeare is not only essential, but often the best place to start for young performers. As they say If you can do Shakespeare, you can do anything! Scott has also served locally as a resident teaching artist with Ford's Theatre, Folger Shakespeare Library, and Imagination Stages; and can be seen as a performer in many theatres across the DMV. He received his MFA in Acting from the University of Washington.
Stacey has worked either with or for arts organizations throughout her career. Currently, she is the digital strategist for the Center for the Arts and Hylton Performing Arts Center at George Mason University, where she is able to combine her interests in both the arts and technology. She is also working towards her MA in Arts Management at Mason, with an expected graduation date of Spring 2022. Stacey lives in Arlington with her husband and three boys, who have flourished as a result of their participation in ETC classes and performances.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Founding Member
A native of Washington, DC, Stan Kang is a professional actor, director and drama teacher. Some film and TV credits include: Fallen, 12 Monkeys, Murderous Intent, Homicide: Life in the Streets, The District and Undefeatable. He has worked as a stage actor with many local DC theatres, such as Washington Shakespeare Company, Studio Theater, Horizons Theatre, Washington Stage Guild, Scena Theater, and the Kennedy Center. He worked as a director with Asian Stories in America (ASIA), a theatre company that was committed to producing, performing and promoting works by Asian American playwrights. He directed the inaugural production of ASIA, Big Hunk of Burning Love and The Theory of Everything. Stan was born in Washington, D.C. and trained locally at the Studio Theater Acting Conservatory.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Development Committee
- Marketing, Governance Committees
Tara's interest in ETC stems from the benefits her own children gained from participating in ETC programs when they were young, along with the enriching programs offered by ETC in the local community. She is a volunteer and an ardent supporter of local and national nonprofits that support educational opportunities for underserved children. Tara is the founder of Design TLC, a website agency that specializes in websites for educational organizations and nonprofits.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governance Committee
- Marketing, Development Committees
As someone who did theatre throughout middle school, Tonya knows firsthand the power of the stage and is excited to join the ETC board. As a counselor and a military spouse she has seen how the arts can help foster a sense of belonging, a benefit she has witnessed for her own three sons as they have moved over the years. Tonya currently works at Blue Star Families, a national nonprofit military and veteran support organization supporting chapter programming and development. Tonya and her husband currently live in Arlington wrangling their boys, dogs, and a cat with an abundance of attitude.