Staff

Dr. Kristen Paglia – Executive Director, Education & Programs
Kristen joined P.S. ARTS in 2008 as the Director of Programs before becoming the Executive Director, Education & Programs in 2010. Kristen holds Masters’ Degrees in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA and Arts Education from Harvard University. She also earned a Doctorate from Harvard in cognitive development psychology and has extensive experience managing arts programs and designing curriculum in urban public and independent schools. Dr. Paglia is an active member of the California public education reform effort, and has a seat at the table in numerous government educational policy and advocacy groups including the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Arts for All Community Arts Team for multiple districts, LA Philharmonic's Youth Orchestra Los Angeles Stakeholders Network, Education and Culture Committee, Senator Price's Special Joint Committee on the Arts, and the California Alliance for Arts Education Policy Council. Dr. Paglia was also invited to participate in the NEA Education Leadership Institute extended committee for California to contribute feedback to issues around arts curriculum, assesment and education reform.

Amy Shapiro – Executive Director, Advancement & Operations
Amy, who has a background in special education, joined P.S. ARTS in September of 2001. Prior to P.S. ARTS, she was a High School Program Manager for Best Buddies of California, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with developmental disabilities. During her tenure at P.S. ARTS, Amy has served as the Development Assistant, Associate Director of Foundation and Government Grants, Director of Special Events, Director of Communications & Advancement, and currently as Executive Director, Advancement and Operations. Amy graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. of Science in 2000. In 2006 Amy earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration, with an emphasis on Non-Profit Management, from the University of Southern California. Amy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Westside Food Bank, an organization that annually distributes more than a million pounds of food to social services agencies, shelters and food pantires across West Los Angeles.

Elda Pineda – Senior Programs Manager
Elda Pineda received her B.A. in Theater from UCLA and began working as an arts educator at the UCLA Lab School and John Adams Middle School. As an actor and Teaching Artist she worked extensively with educational outreach programs targeting at-risk youth, leading workshops for teens and young adults through theater companies including Sinegang and Trade City in Los Angeles and Sining KilUSAn in Seattle. She is also the co-creator of the "Tell Your Story" after-school theater program for 8th grade girls. She continues to be involved with L.A. area multi-disciplinary arts organizations as an actor, director and writer. Ms. Pineda is an active member of the Los Angeles arts education community, serving on both the Santa Monica and Los Angeles Arts for All advocacy teams. She also serves on the steering committee of the Emerging Arts Leaders-Los Angeles sponsored Arts Professionals Advisors Link, a mentorship program that pairs mid-career arts professionals with those more established in the field. Responsible for creating a network of mentors, she recruited an elite cohort of Los Angeles' top arts executives from organizations such as the Music Center, Center Theater Group, L.A. Opera and the L.A. Philharmonic.

Richard Scher – Curriculum & Instruction Specialist
A noted composer and educator, Mr. Scher is also an instructor for the Orff Schulwerk Levels Certification Program at Cal State University, Los Angeles and former president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association. Mr. Scher joined the P.S. ARTS faculty in 1995 and was a Teaching Artist for eight years before joining the administrative staff in his current capacity.  Currently, he composes music for youth and adult choirs, creates music activities to support classroom literacy curriculum and performs in traditional music ensembles. Prior to his career in education, Mr. Scher was a much sought after session musician in the R&B and Pop/Rock record industry. He has written and arranged songs for, played with and produced music for many superstars in the music industry, including Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Holiday, Kool and the Gang, Al Green, Jeff Beck and Patti Austin. Mr. Scher holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Marc Smith, CPA – Finance Manager
Marc joined P.S. ARTS in December 2010 as our Finance Manager. Marc holds both Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting from the University of Georgia and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant.  Prior to joining P.S. ARTS, Marc worked for a public accounting firm in New York City as an auditor serving clients in the not-for-profit, hospitality, real estate, financial services, advertising, security, entertainment, union, and manufacturing industries. Marc has experience both running and consulting for small businesses including creating and running a catering service, developing a high-end restaurant in San Francisco and developing a tourism-related business in New York City.  Marc spent four years as a lead volunteer for City Harvest, a food rescue organization in New York City, and was recognized as Volunteer of the Year in 2008.  Marc moonlights as a chef, a guitarist/songwriter, basketball player and photographer.

Sara Straubel – Development Officer
Sara joined the P.S. ARTS staff in 2006. During her tenure at P.S. ARTS Sara has served as the Event Assistant, Marketing Associate, Marketing Manager and most recently, the Manager of Communications and Events. As the Development Officer, Sara is responsible for foundation, government, corporate and individual donors. In addition, Sara manages the Friends of P.S. ARTS membership program and oversees content and production of marketing materials and social media efforts. Prior to P.S. ARTS, Sara worked in the entertainment industry at Creative Artists Agency. Sara holds a B.A. in Journalism from Ithaca College.

Brice Lovell - Development Associate
Brice joined the P.S. ARTS team in August of 2011 as the Development Associate. Working with the Advancement Team, she helps to research and identify new funding prospects, and coordinates and submits grant proposals. She also manages the Raiser’s Edge database and is responsible for the delivery of acknowledgement letters to donors. Prior to P.S. ARTS, Brice worked in Partnership Development, as well as Finance and Grants, at the United Nations Foundation in Washington D.C. She studied at Radford University where she earned her B.A. in World Religions with a minor in Sociology. A life-long lover of the arts, Brice has studied both visual and performing arts, but more recently has focused on her photography.

Heather Myrick - Events Manager
Heather first joined P.S. ARTS in the summer of 2005 as an LA County Arts Commission Intern. She spent her summer working with the Programs Team and stayed on as the Events Assistant. During this time she finished her B.A. in Dance at California State University, Long Beach and also worked towards a California Teaching Credential in English from CSULB. Upon completion of her teaching credential, Heather became the dance teacher at a South Bay high school, teaching 6 classes of dance a day, with students ranging from beginner to pre-professional. While teaching, Heather received a Bates Summer Dance Intensive Teaching Fellowship, served on her school's Leadership Committee and implemented an interdisciplinary arts exchange and Gala within. After four years of teaching, Heather is excited to continue her work in the field of arts education and rejoin P.S. ARTS as the newly appointed Events Manager. Heather is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Social Entrepreneurship and Change from Pepperdine University.

Stephanie Kistner - Education & Programs Assistant
Stephanie joined P.S. ARTS in May of 2011. Prior to working for P.S. ARTS she served in the Peace Corps in St. Vincent and the Grenadines where, from 2008 to 2010, she worked in youth and community development. While in St. Vincent she began her work as an arts educator and advocate by developing arts education programs at local schools. Stephanie holds a B.F.A. in Painting and a B.A. in Art History from Arizona State University. Stephanie has worked with the Museum of Modern Art, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and most recently with Arts for LA. Stephanie is a working artist and is also currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Arts Management from Claremont Graduate University.

Megan Strawther – Advancement & Operations Assistant
Megan joined the P.S. ARTS staff in January of 2011 as the Advancement & Operations Assistant. Megan earned a B.A. from Virginia Tech in Communication with minors in History and Arts Management.  Prior to P.S. ARTS, she interned in the marketing department at Angeleno Magazine, where she gained valuable skills and learned about Los Angeles’ diverse arts and cultural community.  Megan has volunteered for several non-profit organizations, including Coach for College where she traveled to rural Vietnam to teach disadvantaged children with the mission to promote higher education.