Laurie Schell began her career as a dancer and teacher before serving for ten years as the Executive Director of the California Alliance for Arts Education (now merged with Create CA). Under her leadership, the Alliance played a pivotal role in the successful 2005 campaign that secured the largest state-funded expenditure for arts education in public schools nationwide. At a time when many school districts had lost both the institutional memory and practice of arts instruction, the organization helped shape California’s arts education policy agenda and built local advocacy networks of educators, cultural leaders, and community members committed to equitable, high-quality, standards-based arts education for all students.

* Laurie is now consulting in semi-retirement.