Dr. Mary Palmer -
In General Sessions, Mary will share the “why” and “how” of integrating the arts throughout your school programs. You’ll see images that emphasize the importance of arts integration for teachers and students both. You’ll experience classroom-tested successful strategies and materials for making excellence a reality in your school.

In Friday’s Planning Session, led by Mary, you will develop a concrete arts integration plan to create an exciting and dynamic environment for learning in your schools and/or community organization. You will leave the Institute with your success plan for 2011-2012 in hand!

Dr. Mary Palmer

Mary's specialty is arts education for children and youth in both school and community settings. She has served as Professor of Music Education, Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music Education, and Dean of the College of Education at the University of Central Florida. Since 1985, she has served as senior author of multiple Pre-Kindergarten through grade 8 music textbook series published by Silver Burdett/Scott Foresman; these books are used by teachers and students worldwide. She is the Founder and first Director of Florida’s Arts for a Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education; this program has been instrumental in developing programs and policies affecting arts education in Florida. She has taught in colleges, universities and PK – 12 schools throughout the United States as well as in England, Italy, Germany, Panama, South Africa, Japan, and Peru. Her extensive travels and teaching experiences are evident in her global perspective. Her many awards include recognition from Florida’s Governor, Legislature, and Department of State for her leadership in Arts Education; ACE of Hearts; Pi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year; Florida Music Educators Hall of Fame; UCF Quill Award. She was named a Fulbright Scholar to research in South America. Mary holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in Music Education from the University of Illinois.

Susan Rosoff

Susan is the managing member of Susan Merrill Rosoff, Arts and Museum Consulting, LLC.   She has developed numerous interdisciplinary curriculum materials for museum collections and exhibitions.  In her former role as Curator of Education at Orlando Museum of Art, she was the first in the state link museum learning materials to the Florida Sunshine State Standards, and later was Project Director of “Learning Florida History Through the Murals of Christopher Still,” and “Exploring Uncle Monday and Other Florida Tales” projects coordinated through Florida Department of Education and ACE/FAAE.  She is a frequent presenter for both teachers and museum educators, and has worked extensively with Mary Palmer & Associates on arts integration programs.   In addition, she served co-director of the “Arts Achieve! Model Schools” project, which looked for common trends in these model schools, and “Learning Through Art and Technology,” a project designed to help bridge the gap between art and technology; both were FAAE projects funded through the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Susan received the Briarcliff College Alumnae Award as well as awards from United Arts of Central Florida, the Florida Art Education Association, and the Florida Alliance for Arts Education (ACE/FAAE.)

Jamie Friedman Donmoyer began in the
dramatic arts at age 11, turning her interest in voice imitation into a passion for puppetry and drama. While studying the arts with nationally and internationally renowned performing artists, she began a dramatic arts teaching career that has spanned nearly 20 years.

Jamie honed her skills working as a puppeteer in theme parks such as Sesame Place and Walt Disney World as well as in productions with local arts organizations including the City of Orlando Puppetroupe, Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater, MicheLee Puppets, and The Orlando Repertory Theatre.  Jamie is co-founder the Orlando Puppet Festival, an annual event featuring national and international performances, exhibits and workshops with an adult audience in mind.  Roles in local films and live shows as well as a stint in a Sesame Street 3-D film, eventually led her to New York working alongside several of her Muppeteer heroes as a full time cast member on The Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites."

When not performing with her company Am-Jam Productions or as "Rex" on locally produced "Krysta's Kingdom," Jamie works as a teaching artist, training both teachers and students in character and show development. Jamie, a Drama Specialist with Mary Palmer and Associates, LLC, works with teachers to create and implement lessons that enhance learning through the dramatic arts.

Suzette Swallow

Suzette has taught elementary music in Florida public schools for 27 years. She was recently named the Seminole County Public Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year. Miss Swallow is an Adjunct Professor at The University of Central Florida and Rollins College and is an Associate of Mary Palmer & Associates, LLC. Suzette holds a Bachelor of Music Education with a Certificate of Flute Performance from The Florida State University and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from The University of Central Florida. She has participated in numerous professional trainings including Orff Certification Levels I – Master Class; Creating Original Opera at The Metropolitan Opera, New York City; and Aesthetics Education at Lincoln Center, NYC.  Suzette is a local, state and national workshop presenter. She recently travelled to South Africa where she shared music, movement and storytelling with school children and their communities.

Danielle Lang

UCP, a Charter School with the Orange County Public Schools, is dedicated to educating infants to second grade children with a variety of special and typical learning needs. Danielle collaborates with teachers, administrators, parents, and community artists to cultivate an arts integrated program that exposes students to the powerful and meaningful learning opportunities that teaching through the arts creates.

Danielle holds a master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University in Elementary Education, a bachelor’s degree from University of Central Florida in Exceptional Student Education and Teacher Certification in Music.  In her work with Orange County Public Schools, she held positions in Exceptional Education, primary grade classrooms, Gifted Education, Reading Support and Theatre Arts. Danielle is an Associate with Mary Palmer & Associates, LLC.  She studies the performing arts and has worked with community arts and entertainment organizations such as, Orlando Repertory Theatre, Theatre Downtown, Orlando Shakespeare, Florida Theatrical Association and Walt Disney World.  She recently starred in Chicago at Theatre Downtown, Orlando.

Debbie Fahmie

Debbie has taught elementary music for 19 years. She has served as President of the Osceola Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, the Osceola Arts for a Complete Education Coalition and the Osceola Center for the Arts. Currently, Debbie serves as Past President of the Florida Elementary Music Educators Association and President of Central Florida Orff Chapter. She is a member of the Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) Mentor Program, the FMEA Assessment Task Force and Writing Team, the Grade Level Expectations Writing Team and Project Manager for Start With the Arts Curriculum Writing Team. Debbie served with the Florida Department of Education as an evaluator for the Florida Music Demonstration Schools. She is a trainer for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She has taught through Stetson’s Community Outreach Program and is the contemporary choir director at Holy Redeemer Church in Kissimmee..

She has been the recipient of various awards, including:

2001 United Arts Educator of the Year

2003 Arts for a Complete Education (ACE) Educator of the Year

2005/2006 Osceola County Arts Teacher of the Year

2008 FMEA State Music Educator of the Year

2008 Osceola County Teacher of the Year

2008 State Finalist for Florida Teacher of the Year.

Debbie has presented workshops throughout Florida, as well as at ASCD, AOSA, TMEA and SWMENC. In 2008, under Debbie’s arts education leadership, Cypress Elementary School (Osceola County) was named a National School of Distinction in Arts Education (one of six in the nation) by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. To receive the award, Debbie and 27 of her students performed on the Millenium Stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Dr. Linda Lovins

Dr. Lovins is an experienced choral and general music educator with degrees from the Crane School of Music, State University College at Potsdam, New York (B.M., M.M.) and The Florida State University School of Music (Ph.D.). She taught public school music from 1980 to 1998 and held a number of district-, county-, and state-level leadership positions. Dr. Lovins developed the music education curriculum for Buffalo State College in New York State. She is Director of Music at Lafayette Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida and has served as Program Director for Arts for a Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education (ACE/FAAE).

Scott Evans

Scott received his Master’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Central Florida and is a recipient of the National Board Teacher Certification. He taught music at the elementary, middle and high school levels and has served as a guest clinician and conductor of honor choruses throughout Florida.

Director of the Orange County Arts Education Center since its beginning in 2007, Scott led the Center in building connectivity, collaboration, and support among Orange County’s leaders, citizens, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and businesses. The major goal of the Center is to make high-quality arts education accessible and a source of pride to all.  In 2010, Scott began his arts education leadership role with the Orange County Public Schools, the 10th largest school district in the United States.

Susan Burke

Susan Burke brings a wide range of experience to her role of Executive Director at the Florida Alliance for Arts Education.  She was Director of Education at the Sarasota County Arts Council from 2002 - 2005 where she coordinated the Artists in Schools program which brought professional artists into Sarasota Public Schools classrooms to teach reading, math, science, and social studies curriculum. Since 2002, she has served on the Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts, an Advisory Committee to the District Superintendent and on the Arts Education Task Force, a community coalition that supports arts education in Sarasota County. Susan played a pivotal role last year in developing and advancing a strategy to integrate Career, Technical Education and Arts courses in high school Small Learning Communities in the Sarasota Schools so that graduating seniors have been taught to the professional standards required in a number of careers in the arts.  Since 1996, she has administered Encore! Ensemble Theatre Workshop, a summer program that brings together teens from around the world to study and create theatre.

In addition to her work in arts education, Burke, who has an MBA in Integrative Management from Michigan State University and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Toledo, has extensive experience in the private sector in project management, information management, new media and marketing, and nuclear power plant licensing.