Empowering Teachers to Advocate for Federal and State Arts Education Policy

Assistant Executive Director, Advocacy and Public Policy
National Association for Music Education (NAfME) 

Amanda Karhuse is the assistant executive director for advocacy and public policy at the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), where she works with policy makers and other national organizations to promote music and the arts as integral and core component of a well-rounded education. In this role, she coordinates all federal and state policy and advocacy efforts for NAfME, including lobbying, coalition-building activities, and strengthening the capacity of music education advocates. Additionally, Amanda leads the Music Education Policy Roundtable, serves as facilitator for the National Coalition for Art Standards, represents NAfME on the board of directors for the Title IV-A Coalition, and co-chairs the Arts Education Partnership Data Working Group. In 2024, Amanda became the lead federal lobbyist for the Arts Education Alliance, a new partnership between NAfME and the Educational Theatre Association, the National Art Education Association, the National Association for Media Arts Education, and the National Dance Education Organization. 

President & CEO
National Association for Media Arts Education (NAMAE) 

Dain Olsen is a national leader and specialist in media arts education with over 35 years of experience as a teacher, administrator and program developer. He is currently President, CEO, and cofounder of the National Association for Media Arts Education, and he has authored a book on the subject for Routledge. Dain led the establishment of media arts in LAUSD, and the development of National Media Arts Standards, now adopted in 39 states. He has served as a consultant and presenter for numerous states and organizations. Dain has also taught at Otis College and UCLA, and he is an intermedia artist in imaging, video, sound, interactive, and multimedia performance. 

Executive Director
Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) 

Jennifer Katona is the current executive director of the Educational Theatre Association and president of the Educational Theatre Foundation where she works to serve theatre educators across the United States with comprehensive resources to build, support, and sustain their theatre programs. Jennifer is also the president of 3 Looms Creative Education Consulting, which served as program manager for the NYC DoE Filmed Theatre Partnership with the National Theatre, London, and the Connecticut expansion of the Arthur Miller Foundation theatre teacher development program. Jennifer is the former founder and director of the Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at the City College of New York, where she developed and taught curriculum development, theatre directing foundations, arts integration, and a student teaching seminar. Jennifer holds a PhD in Urban Education: Arts Policy and her current research explores factors that influence school leaders to maintain or eliminate arts programming in their school and building sustainable arts programming in urban schools. Jennifer has spoken and presented on this topic at many conferences across the country and works directly with schools to support their efforts in creating arts-rich schools. Through her career and work at EdTA, Jennifer has led strong advocacy efforts to ensure all students have access to theatre education and that those spaces are inclusive of all students. 

Executive Director
National Art Education Association (NAEA) 

Mario R. Rossero is the executive director of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), the leading professional membership organization that champions visual arts, design, and media arts education. He is an experienced art educator with roles as a museum educator, elementary and middle school art teacher, and adjunct professor, and he has held a number of leadership positions. Prior to joining NAEA, he served as senior vice president of education for the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, managing their national education portfolio and opening the REACH expansion. Before moving to Washington, DC, Mario served in a variety of leadership roles in Chicago Public Schools, including chief of core curriculum, supporting all content areas; director of arts education, leading the charge to increase equity and access to all art forms for all students through the inaugural Arts Education Plan; and director of magnet schools and programs. Mario also served as the senior program officer for arts education for Pittsburgh Public Schools. Mario is active on a number of advisory boards and is a practicing visual artist. 

Executive Director
National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) 

Susan McGreevy-Nichols is the executive director of the National Dance Education Organization and has served in that role since 2012. Her service to the field of arts education includes sitting on a number of national committees and task forces, and she has contributed to the development of the National Core Standards in Arts Education. As a teacher at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1974 to 2002, Susan founded and developed a nationally renowned middle school dance program. She is the developer of a cutting-edge reading comprehension strategy that uses text as inspiration for original choreography and has coauthored five books. 

Executive Director
National Association for Music Education (NAfME) 

Christopher B. L. Woodside is the executive director of the National Association for Music Education. Prior to his hiring as executive director, Chris served NAfME for over a decade in a variety of roles. Most recently as interim executive director, Chris guided NAfME through the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic, working to ensure financial stability and mission-driven activity reflective of the needs of music educators serving students in a constantly evolving landscape.  

Chris has contributed extensively to NAfME public policy and advocacy achievements, helping grow the association’s advocacy footprint through state-level capacity building, creation of the Music Education Policy Roundtable, expansion of the NAfME Hill Day advocacy event, and via legislative and regulatory lobbying, including efforts to ensure the inclusion of music-specific provisions in federal education law. In 2016, Chris received the honor of Lowell Mason Fellow in recognition of his advocacy work on behalf of the profession. 

Prior to his time with NAfME, Chris was the policy coordinator for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Chris also served on the legislative staff of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and has worked on several political campaigns. Chris received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Miami University. 

Chris comes from a family of arts educators and advocates. He believes strongly in the mission of NAfME and has a deep passion for the work of expanding equitable access to music education. He is a spouse, the father of two young (musical) children, and a proud resident of the greater Washington (DC) Metropolitan Area.