The Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) hosts an annual, year-long Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Research Fellow to investigate the intersection of EDI and arts management programs. The Fellow works under the supervision of a Mentor. The Fellow is responsible for collecting data and helping create teaching resources for AAAE members on EDI issues and is open to all students currently enrolled in an arts administration graduate program or related fields or a recent (within 1 year) graduate of said program at the time of applying.
2024 – 25 EDI Fellow
Daniel Kumapayi is a dedicated Public & Arts Administrator with a strong passion for social impact initiatives. His commitment to nurturing creativity and advancing cultural initiatives globally is deeply rooted in his personal experiences with injustices and challenges. Daniel holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Michigan, specializing in Double Bass. His research in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) within arts administration is driven by his Nigerian-American identity and the concept of ikigai. Daniel is passionate about fostering inclusivity and accessibility in the arts, creating opportunities for African arts administrators to thrive despite geographic and financial barriers. He will present his research, “Strategic Management Models for Emerging Arts and Culture Nonprofits in Nigeria: A Global Perspective,” at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action’s 53rd Annual Conference in Washington, DC, in November 2024. As the Founder and Executive Director of Àkójọpọ̀, Daniel has played a pivotal role in supporting Pan-African musicians and fostering cultural exchange. He is also a music teacher at Aldridge Elementary School in Chicago.
2023 – 24 EDI Fellow
De’Avin Mitchell (They/Them) is from Louisville, Kentucky, and is currently a Ph.D. student in the Arts Administration, Education and Policy program at the Ohio State University (OSU). Throughout their graduate studies, De’Avin has sought to investigate the ways in which the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, access, justice, belonging, and respect manifest within the policies and practices of arts organizations. De’Avin’s doctoral research interrogates the workplace and internal operations of arts organizations to better understand how equity policies and initiatives impact laborers at all levels of an organization.
Along with individual research, De’Avin is a member of a research collective comprised of arts education and policy researchers called Big Gay Church (BGC). With BGC, De’Avin has interrogated contemporary issues impacting LGBTQ+ art educators, students, their allies and accomplices, and the spaces they occupy. De’Avin has also helped organize and moderate an annual panel series at OSU, titled Power and Potentials, that has brought in internationally recognized scholars and arts leaders to discuss community, equity, and justice in the cultural sector. De’Avin received their master’s in arts policy and administration from OSU in 2021. De’Avin received their bachelor’s in art education and studio art from the University of Kentucky in 2019.
2022 – 23 EDI Fellow
Angela Chi-Chi Glass (she/her/ella) plays and teaches piano. As the daughter of Peruvian parents, Angela’s creative and academic work is rooted in the conviction that everyone should have access to the arts and a quality and sustained arts education.
Upon graduating from the Virginia Governor’s High School for the Arts in Norfolk, VA Angela was invited to study at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, France, where she trained as a classical pianist for almost two years with the great pedagogue Françoise Thinat. Angela then entered the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, earning her BM in Classical and Jazz studies. Shortly thereafter, Angela was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study Afro-Peruvian music in Lima, Perú.
Angela’s time in Perú was formative and transformative – studying and performing there for almost 5 years. As Angela was welcomed and embraced by teachers, performers, academics, and activists of the Afro-descendant, Indigenous, and LGBTQ communities, she started to look outwards and began volunteering with the Peruvian NGOs ASONEDH, Teatro del Milenio, Las Respondonas, and La Voz del Cajón. As a result, Angela began working toward finding solutions to the problem of lack of diversity in the arts back home in the U.S.
Angela now lives in Sunset Park Brooklyn, NY where she founded and runs a private music studio, drawing upon her experience of exchanging cultural ideas in Spanish. She is a graduate student of Arts Administration at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, Baruch College (CUNY).
2021 – 22 EDI Fellow
Originally hailing from Orlando, FL, Jaime Sharp (she/her) is “a mezzo-soprano whose artistry, administration, and activism is rooted in accessibility and change” (Garrett McQueen, TRILLOQUY). She currently resides in Cincinnati on the stolen territories of the Delaware, Miami and Shawnee tribes. She is passionate about advocating for artists of all identities and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. Jaime was selected for the Opera Leaders of Color inaugural cohort with OPERA America. She is also the President and General Director of Opera NexGen, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hear Us, Hear Them Ensemble, Administrative Manager of the Black Opera Alliance, and Marketing Intern with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.Jaime is pursuing her MM in Voice at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). She is the Vice President of the Graduate Student Association, Treasurer of the Black Student Association, Student Liaison for the DEI Committee and the Marketing and Communications Graduate Assistant.
She is a member of the CSO Multicultural Awareness Council, Women of Color in the Arts, NANM, Arts Administrators of Color, Black Administrators of Opera, BIPOC Arts, the Racial Justice Opera Network. Jaime holds a BM from the University of Michigan and is working on graduate certificates in arts administration with Boston University and the University of Connecticut.
AAAE EDI Fellowship Research: Jaime Sharpe worked alongside AAAE Board Secretary Diane Claussen to research existing full-time diversity positions in major American opera companies. This was done by gathering information from interviews and surveys to analyze the varied structure and power that these roles hold, as well as the gaps in racial equity that are not being fulfilled.
2020 – 21 EDI Fellows
Trés McMichael is an emerging arts leader and performer who is passionate about community engagement, arts education, and social justice. Trés is an alumnus of Elon University, where he graduated with degrees in Music Theatre (BFA) and Arts Administration (BA). While at Elon, Trés toured Ghana with the Africa Alive Dance Company and conducted research on perceived partner availability for emerging adult Black gay men. He has worked with various nonprofit and arts organizations such as Arena Stage, Maryland Leadership Workshops, and the NAACP. In 2018, Trés was awarded first place in the Hall Johnson Spirituals Competition by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He currently serves as the Education Programs Manager at the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative. Over the years, Trés has been featured in the Baltimore Sun, Playbill, and Time Magazine and has performed on the stages of Mill Mountain Theatre, Theatre Raleigh, Lyric Opera Baltimore, Signature Theater, and Lincoln Center. Through his work, Trés strives to make the arts sector more inclusive and equitable for all.
AAAE EDI Fellowship Research: Trés McMichael worked alongside 2020-21 AAAE EDI Liaison Fleurette Fernando, Director of the MA Arts Leadership Program at the University of Houston, and his research focused on Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Concepts with Undergraduate Arts Administration Students through Applied Theater Techniques.
India Mack is an arts administrator, educator, activist, and creative from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the co-founder of No Dream Deferred NOLA, a community-anchored theater production company that produces culturally relevant theater. As the creative director of NDD, India designs and implements all educational programs. In addition to her role in educational programming, she is an Equity and Justice for Institutional Change Facilitator. EJIC is a program of NDD that provides tools, resources, and training to organizations looking to cultivate meaningful shifts within their organizational culture and EDI analysis.
AAAE EDI Fellowship Research: India Mack worked alongside 2020-21 AAAE EDI Liaison Fleurette Fernando, Director of the MA Arts Leadership Program at the University of Houston, and her research focused on Investigating the Need for Arts Leadership Programs at HBCUs.
2019 – 20 EDI Fellow
Anne-Margaret Childress is a graduate student at Le Moyne College where she studies Arts Administration. She teaches African American Theater in the African American Studies Department at Syracuse University where she completed her first master’s degree in Pan African Studies. Anne-Margaret has been nominated for a Syracuse Area Live Theater Award for Best Director (Community Theater) for Syracuse Shakespeare In-The-Park’s 2019 production of The Tempest. She serves on the Production Board for Syracuse Shakespeare In-The-Park. Anne-Margaret’s research interests are creating opportunity for diversified populations and promoting arts education as an occupation.
AAAE EDI Fellowship Research: Anne-Margaret Childress worked alongside 2019-20 AAAE EDI Liaison Dr. Yuha Jung, Associate Professor of Arts Administration & Director of Graduate Studies of the Department of Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky, and her Fellowship Research Project focused on the following theme: Mentoring and Shadowing Models: How Support Programs Increase Opportunity and Aid in Creating Stable Education Careers. The goal of her research was to create a plan for a mentoring program for the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) that reaches out to graduate students in the association and provides support and expertise in the field.
2018 – 19 EDI Fellow
Morgan Williams holds a B.A. In Art History and Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.S. in Arts Administration from Drexel University, where she wrote her master’s thesis on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Foundation Funding for Arts and Culture. Her research interests include the professionalization of arts administration, EDI in arts and culture, and fundraising and development trends. She currently works at Drexel University in the department of Enrollment Management and Student Success. Morgan is also the Executive Directory of The A Cappella Project Philadelphia, a volunteer-based non-profit which brings together adult singers, offers educational programs, and raises money for childrens’ performing arts scholarships in Philadelphia.
AAAE EDI Fellowship Research: As the inaugural EDI fellow, Morgan worked alongside Brea Heidelberg, PhD, Program Director & Associate Professor, Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. She was tasked with creating a bibliography of Arts and Culture related EDI resources, compiling a list of EDI statements from Arts and Culture organizations in the US, and conducting original research on the intersection of EDI and arts management programs. For her research, Morgan administered a survey to members of the Association of Arts Administration Educators. The survey examined whether and how arts administration programs are incorporating EDI values and learning objectives into their curricula. The objective of the study was to provide an overview of current practices and make recommendations for future improvement.