SIX PROFESSIONALS JOIN HARTFORD PERFORMS BOARD

HARTFORD, CT (March 25, 2015) – Hartford Performs, a nonprofit collaborative that brings arts education to Hartford Public Schools, has elected six new professionals to its Board of Directors.

Lisa Andrzejewski is an associate with Robinson & Cole’s construction law practice group. The Seymour resident represents owners, contractors, subcontractors, sureties and design professionals in all aspects of construction work. She previously ran her own business teaching children, adults and local governments how to become photo historians. Andrzejewski is also a commissioner on the Town of Seymour Inland Wetlands Commission.

Kathleen Lynch Bolduc is founder and chief executive officer of The Kildare Pike Group, specializing in strategic planning, business development and organizational transformation. Hartford Performs was launched as a program of the Greater Hartford Arts Council during her tenure there as chief executive officer from 2009 to 2011. She previously was executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Travelers. She currently resides in Woolwich, Maine.

José Colón-Rivas is the City of Hartford’s director of the Department of Families, Children Youth and Recreation. He also serves on the Hartford Board of Education. Colón-Rivas has a long history as an educator, working in the Hartford Public Schools first as a math teacher, later as a principal and then as senior director of early childhood education and accreditation for the district.

Tracy Kane is director of arts for Hartford Public Schools. She has taught theater to middle and high school students in Hartford, and English and theater at Farmington High School. Prior to becoming a public school teacher, she held educational positions at professional theaters in New York City, Honolulu and at Hartford Stage. Kane is a West Hartford resident.

John Nealon is the group general counsel for the Business Insurance Division of Travelers, where he has held a variety of legal positions since 1985. The Glastonbury resident also serves in board positions for the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Hartford Art School.

Ed Wierzbicki is an Emmy Award-winning writer/producer, with work appearing on Connecticut Public Television as well as other PBS stations. In addition to his work as an arts journalist and producer, Wierzbicki directs for both the stage and television. He also teaches writing, film and theater in both college and pre-professional secondary arts settings. The Wethersfield resident currently is an adjunct instructor of performance/acting at Middlesex Community College.
The newly expanded Hartford Performs board of directors will help to lead the organization as it increases the number of prekindergarten through grade 8 Hartford public schools it serves from 28 this year to 33 in the 2015-16 school year.

Hartford Performs currently provides nearly 13,000 Hartford public school students with arts-education experiences. Its roster of 138 teaching artists and arts organizations deliver more than 700 programs during the school year that align both to Common Core State Standards and National Arts Standards. Each program uses an art form to teach a lesson in another subject area, such as English, math, science or social studies, so that the students learn both about the art form and about the other subject area.

Students in Hartford Performs schools also visit a variety of area arts venues to experience professional exhibitions, as well as music, dance and theater performances.

In addition, Hartford Performs provides a wealth of professional development programs to teaching artists and Hartford public school teachers.

These six new board members join the following existing Hartford Performs board members: Jennifer Allen of Hartford Public Schools; Jackie Coleman of the Connecticut Department of Education; Scott Gaul of Prudential; Paul Diego Holzer of Achieve Hartford!; David MacDonald of the Hartford City Council; Elizabeth Brad Noel, former Hartford Board of Education member; Margaret Plaganis, retired art teacher; Rie Poirier-Campbell of Hartford Performs; Matthew Poland of Hartford Public Library; Kelvin Roldán of Hartford Public Schools; Deidre Tavera of Hartford Public Schools; Richard Wenning of BeFoundation; and Olivia White of The Amistad Center for Art and Culture.

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Hartford Performs is a nonprofit arts education collaborative of schools, arts providers, community organizations, funders and other supporters working together in a planned and integrated way to provide a rich array of arts experiences to Hartford’s students through three mutually reinforcing areas: in-school arts instruction; out-of-school-time arts programming; and arts-integration programs. Hartford Performs’ mission is to ensure that all Hartford Public School students have access to quality arts education delivered by in-school teaching staff in partnership with the region’s vibrant arts community. More information: www.HartfordPerforms.org.