Governor's School for the Arts faculty are among the finest professional teaching artists in Kentucky and the nation. They are chosen for their skills as educators, personal artistic development and their ability to act as positive role models for young artists.

Besides imparting their specialized knowledge, GSA faculty act as mentors to the students, providing insights into the professional world of the arts, art careers and advanced arts education and training.

In addition, outstanding private instructors and guests artists serve as visiting faculty. Nationally acclaimed artists, such as the late actor/director John Houseman, instrumentalist Vince DiMartino, sculptor Ed Hamilton, and poet Nikky Finney, have presented master-classes, lectures and performances at the school since its inception.

GSA Faculty and Administration 2007.

			Heather Weston Bell, Vice President, The Kentucky Center; Executive Director, GSA As a clarinetist, Heather Weston Bell was a member of her high school bands, as well as the Louisville Youth Orchestra. With a desire to combine her passion for the arts with an interest in business, Heather earned a B.A. in Arts Administration from the Universtiy of Kentucky. Her previous experiences include work with the Singletary Center for the Arts, Spoleto Festival in Charlestown, S.C., and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
			Laura Angermeier, Program Administrator Laura Angermeier grew up in Oldham County and has been active in the arts since the age of five when she began taking dance lessons at a local studio.  Laura attended Governor’s School for the Arts in 1998 for vocal music.   She graduated with Honors from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN earning a B.S. in Arts Administration with a concentration in voice.  She gained experience working at Clowes Memorial Performing Arts Hall in the education department, serving as a Butler Ambassador, and organizing the “Leadership through Arts Forum” bringing in national arts speakers to campus. Upon graduation she returned to work at The Kentucky Center in the education department after interning there the previous summer.  She then worked as a college planner for College Finance & Planning, Inc., helping high schools with the entire college planning process, specializing with students pursuing a major in the arts. Laura still continues singing and enjoys working with the high school youth group at her church.
			Elise Davis, Program Assistant and Registrar Elise is a graduate of Transylvania University earning a BA in applied music with a concentration in piano. She attended Governor’s School for the Arts in 2001 for Instrumental music. Elise has also studied music at Goldsmiths College, University of London at London, England in Fall 2004 and has previously worked on the residential staff at Interlochen Arts Camp for three summers.
			Theresa Bautista, Dance Theresa trained in Southern Indiana and Louisville, gaining experience both in dance and musical theatre. While earning her biology degree from Indiana University, she continued her dance studies in a program headed by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. She has performed with Bloomington, IN's In Motion and The Kentucky Youth Dance Ensemble, is currently a member of Anna Sapozhnikov’s Moyamo Dance Company and is in her fourth season as a soloist with Art! Art! Barking Dog Modern Dance Company.
			Joanna Binford, Instrumental Music Joanna Binford is a recipient of the 2003 Kentucky ASTA “Studio Teacher” Award, and is currently on the faculty of the Centenary School of Music in Lexington, where she specializes in Suzuki Method instruction. In addition, she is an adjunct instructor in violin and viola at Transylvania University, and viola instructor at Georgetown College. She currently serves as the violist of the EKU String Quartet, the Impromptu String Quartet, and the Endless Road Strings.
			Richard Byrd, Instrumental Music Richard Byrd is professor of music at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky. In addition to his duties as coordinator of instrumental music, he oversees the music theory program and the applied trumpet and horn studio. Richard earned his Ph.D. in music theory from the University of Kentucky. During his doctoral studies he was awarded the prestigious Dissertation Year $10,000 Fellowship for his research on the music of the composer Fisher Tull. He earned his Master of Music in theory from the University of Kentucky and his Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance from DePauw University.
			Bill Caise, Drama Bill Caise did his undergraduate work at the University of Kentucky and received his MFA from the University of Iowa. Caise has appeared in many award-winning productions and has directed close to twenty shows. Caise currently teaches acting and African-American theatre at Purdue University.
			Angelique Clay, Vocal Music Heralded for her “soaring lyric soprano voice,” Angelique Clay has garnered performances in the United States, Europe, and South America.  A native of Louisville, Ky., Ms. Clay received a Bachelor of Science degree from Oakwood College, a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Kentucky.  Operatic roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, the title role of Susannah from Floyd’s American drama Susannah, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Lily and Bess in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.  Ms. Clay has recorded and toured as a soloist with the American Spiritual Ensemble throughout the United States, Spain and Brazil. She was a featured recitalist at the National Opera Association Legacy Awards Celebration in Washington D.C. in 1999, and a guest soloist on In Performance at the Governor’s Mansion, a Public Television performance sponsored by the Governor’s Office in Kentucky highlighting artists of note from Kentucky. Dr. Clay is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Kentucky.
			Joseph Nygren Cox, Dance Mr. Cox is a principal dancer with the Louisville Ballet.  He has performed leading roles in all of the company’s full-length productions as well as a wide range of other works.  He is also a frequent guest artist, teacher and stager with dance companies in Texas, Florida, and the Mid-West.
			Christina DiGiovanni, Dance Christina DiGiovanni received a B.F.A. in Dance with honors from Wright State University. While in college, she studied and performed with the Dayton Ballet. Ms. DiGiovanni performed with Chicago Dance Medium, a modern dance company, before settling in Louisville where she performed, choreograhped, taught for, and managed Afterimages Dance Company. Ms. DiGiovanni then became the Artistic Director for PNEUMA, an after school arts program for inner city youth in Louisville. She was a founding member of Art! Art! Barking Dog Dance Company. She currently teaches in the Children's Division of the Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet, and is the choreograhper for the New Thought Unity Musical Theater Camp.
			Mitchell Douglas, Creative Writing Mitchell L. H. Douglas is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), a cofounder of the Affrilachian Poets, and a Cave Canem Fellow. His poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appears in Callaloo, the anthology Poetic Voices Without Borders (Gival Press) and The Louisville Review. Additional work is forthcoming in the anthologies The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (University of Georgia Press) and America! What’s My Name? (Wind Press). He is the poetry editor for PLUCK: the Journal of Affrilachian Arts & Culture, a venture made possible by fellow Affrilachian Poet cofounder Frank X Walker’s Duncan Hill Press. In 2006, his manuscript Cooling Board was a semifinalist for the Crab Orchard Review First Book Award. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, he resides in Indianapolis.
			Olivia Duval, Vocal Music Olivia Duval received her bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College-Conservatory and her master of music degree from the University of Louisville. An award winner in competitions sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the Orpheus National Vocal Competition, Olivia has also been a member of the world-renowned San Francisco Opera Merola Opera program.
			Kelly Norman Ellis, Creative Writing Kelly Norman Ellis is an assistant professor of English at Chicago State University. She was raised in Jackson, Mississippi and is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets. She resides on Chicago's south side with her partner, Kevin and her daughter Naomi Zora. Kelly is the author of Tougaloo Blues. Kelly says this about her work, “It was written long before I was even born. The lives, the love, the community all existed before I existed. I was just lucky enough to have been born into a loving southern, Black family. I want these poems to stand as witness to the beauty and abundance of that life: a black southern woman's life, a good life, a proud life, a life as rich and sweet as the pies I bake with Mississippi pecans. There are others like me, folks raised in the brown loving arms of family. These poems are for them.” We are thrilled to have Kelly return to our creative writing faculty.
			Kevin Flores, Media Specialist Keving Flores is a photographer and filmmaker presently residing in Louisville, Ky. He is an alumni of the GSA class of 1998 (drama) and served as a resident assistant for the program from 2001-2003. In 2004 he obtained a B.F.A. degree in photography from the University of Louisville. In the fall of 2004 Kevin entered Spalding University's graduate degree program in education. He is currently working on several music video projects, and will be filming a feature length motion picture this summer entitled "Dying Midwestern." Flores also involves himself in music by playing bass guitar in the Louisville based group the waterground.
			Ellen Hagan, Creative Writing Ellen Hagan is a writer, actress and educator. Ellen holds an MFA in fiction from The New School University, and is working on a full- length novel entitled The Kentucky Notes/ Notes Home. She received a BFA in acting and a minor in English from the University of Kentucky. In addition, Ellen has studied both drama and playwriting at Goldsmith's University in London, England and has received additional training as a performer and writer at New York University's Tisch School for the Arts
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			Sharon Kinnison, Musical Theatre Sharon Kinnison, a native of Louisville, spent twelve years of her career in the San Francisco Bay area. Regional acting credits include Once Upon a Mattress for Musical Theatre Louisville, Floyd Collins for Actors Theatre of Louisville, Six Women with Brain Death for New Girl Productions, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for Stage One. Directing credits include Candide, She Loves me, Phaedra, The Fantasticks, Falstaff, and Chicago. Kinnison holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Louisville and is currently the Executive Director of Music Theatre Louisville.
			Dr. Mira Kruja, NCTM, Instrumental Music An international award winner, Dr. Mira Kruja has concertized extensively in Europe and the United States. She has premiered numerous twentieth-century compositions, has been featured with prestigious orchestras, and has recorded in Europe and the United States. Her performances have been broadcast live on National Radio and TV stations. Dr. Kruja is a frequent adjudicator for international and national piano competitions. She is on the National Board of Adjudicators for the National Guild of Piano Teachers. Dr. Kruja’s awards and performance honors include the Innovative Electronic Dissertation International Award (NDLTD), Chancellor’s Outstanding Teaching Award (UK), Teacher Who Made a Difference Award (UK), and Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition. A Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges Dr. Kruja was also selected in Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi National Academic Honor Society. Her recently released solo piano CD Æterna features music of Beethoven, Crumb, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Bach, and Busoni. A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music, Dr. Kruja is professor of piano at the Alabama University and the Governor’s School for the Arts. Her previous faculty and teaching positions include University of Kentucky, West Virginia University, Radford University, and the National University-Conservatory (Europe).
			Barry Lawrence, Vocal Music Barry Lawrence is currently an artist-in-residence at Bellarmine College. Barry is a three time winner of the Kentucky District Metropolitan Opera Auditions and is a graduate of Indiana University School of Music. A founding member of the Black Classical Artists of Louisville, Barry performs a wide range of operatic roles.
			Scott Locke, Instrumental Music Scott Locke graduated with a master's degree from the University of Southern California and a doctorate degree from Ball State University. He has presented solo and chamber music programs at the British Embassy, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Levine School of Music, the World Bank Concert Series, Dartmouth College, San Jose State University, Earlham College, the Dayton Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Arkansas State University, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Currently he is professor of clarinet at Murray State University and is clarinetist in the Paducah and Owensboro Symphonies.
			Eleanor McClellan, Vocal Music Eleanor McClellan is currently an instructor of Voice at Mississippi State University. She holds degrees from the University of North Alabama and the University of Louisville. McClellan has finished work towards a Doctorate of Music from the University of Cincinnati and has studied in France and Italy. A founding member of the Black Classical Artists of Louisville, she has performed Solo Recitals and in Opera and Musical Theatre on three continents including the premiere of a work by Kentucky Composer Patsy Simms at the Vatican City in Italy.
			Ruben Moreno, Visual Art Ruben Moreno is a media artist and art educator who specializes in community based art programs. Currently on the visual arts faculty at the Louisville Collegiate School, Ruben teaches art and media programs to middle and high school students. Moreno holds an MFA from the University of Cincinnati and a BFA from the University of South Alabama.
			Stephen Penn, Vocal Music Stephen Penn graduated from the University of Kentucky, Western Michigan University, and the New England Conservatory. Stephen is co-director of the UK Opera Workshop, and music director for the Lexington Opera Society/ UK Opera joint educational touring opera. Former positions include the Hartt School, in Hartford, CT, the University of Connecticut at Storrs, Boston Conservatory, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, where Penn was awarded a fellowship for coaching studies.
			Jeff Rawlins, Architecture Jeff Rawlins has a Bachelor of Architecture from Ball State University and a Master of Architecture from Cranbrook Academy of Art.  He and his family reside in Louisville where his firm Architectural Artisans has been creating unique small commercial and residential projects since 1993.
			Donna Richards, Musical Theater Donna Richards is a graduate of the Los Angeles School of Performing Arts with a degree in dance performance. She has performed and traveled with many Broadway shows and is currently a teacher at the Dance Center in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
			Bobby Scroggins, Visual Art Bobby Scroggins studied sculpture and cermaics at The Kansas City Art Institute where he received a BFA in 1976. He later received a MFA in the field of sculpture from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1980. Since then his works have received numerous awards such as first place purchase award in the Atlanta Life Insurance Company's National Art Competition. Scroggins' work has been featured across the United States. In 2003 and 2004 he taught at the first ever Academy of the Arts in Donegal and Derry, Northern Ireland. He is currently head of ceramics at the University of Kentucky.
			A.T. Simpson, Vocal Music A.T. is an associate professor of music at Bellarmine University where he is the director of choral activities and the director of handbell ensembles. A.T. received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, his M.M. from Converse College, and his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky.
			Donna Sink, Architecture Ms. Sink received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Arizona in 1990 and her Master of Architecture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in 1995. She has lived and worked in architecture firms in Chicago, Portland, Tucson, and Philadelphia, as well as Vienna, Austria. In addition to building designs for schools, churches, and public institutions, Donna has designed exhibition installations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and several fine art galleries. She has taught architecture studios at Drexel University and Philadelphia University. Donna is currently partner in a small practice, Harris/Sink Architecture and Interiors in Indianapolis, IN, doing residential and small commercial work.
			Tim Soulis, Drama Tim Soulis is the director of theatre and professor of drama at Transylvania University. In addition to teaching, acting, directing, theatre history, dramatic literature, and playwriting, he has directed more than 80 productions. He has a Ph.D. in theatre and has taught drama throughout the country.
			Susan Wigglesworth, Drama Susan Wigglesworth has been acting professionally for nigh on 50 years. An award winning costumer designer as well an actress, she has appeared on Broadway, in London’s West End and extensively throughout England and the United States.
			Annabelle Wilson, Visual Art Annabelle Wilson graduated with a BFA from Western Kentucky University. She then attended the University of Kentucky where she obtained a graduate degree. She currently creates, and teaches painting and drawing at the University of Kentucky.