OUR TEAM
Pilita Simpson
FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
The Founder of Positively Arts, Pilita Simpson currently holds an Education Master's Degree in Arts in Education from Harvard University. Pilita has worked for such amazing companies as Sesame Workshop and Walt Disney before founding this 501(c)(3) nonprofit. She believes that the best way to nurture young, developing minds is to engage the emotion-center of the brain (the limbic system), thereby attaching an emotional response to new information, making it more easily retained and recalled in the future. Arts integration enhances cognition and provides our youth with the tools for self-expression and confidence building. She is continuing her work to strengthen a child’s education and social-emotional development through her reinvented curriculum and design, woven into all of Positively Arts' programming.
​Pilita worked as the Director of New Media and Learning Technology for The Public Education Foundation in Las Vegas where she developed a passion for serving children in and through the arts. She uses arts-integration models to enhance learning and raise student achievement, while using the arts to empower, inspire, educate, and heal. Beyond her arts and education background, Pilita is an active member of Actors’ Equity Association for over 20 years, having performed around the world as a vocalist, actress, and emcee for Disney and other professional companies. Pilita is passionate about giving young people the tools and skillsets necessary to become confident and resilient adults who go on to be leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. She is confident that youth raised in an arts-enriched environment are best set up to succeed in this ever-changing world.
Alana Kohl
BOARD CHAIR
Yinghua Chen
DIRECTOR
Michelle Guyot
BOARD MEMBER
Joanna Johnston
BOARD MEMBER
Tim Revero
BOARD MEMBER
Jen Bamboa
BOARD MEMBER
Kari Golden
BOARD MEMBER
Matthew Lockwood
COMMUNITY OUTREACH MANAGER
Coaches
DeLee Lively-Torti
POSITIVELY ARTS DIRECTOR
Maria Rosales
IVY DREAMERS DIRECTOR
Olive Metz
OFFICE MANAGER
CROCHET COACH
Kim Martinez-Depaz
IVY DREAMERS COACH
Jenny Barbee
IVY DREAMERS COACH
CRAFTY DANCE COACH/FOUNDER
Faith Torti
IVY DREAMERS COACH
Ehrlich Ocampo
CIRCUS ARTS COACH
Emir Rodriguez
SPANISH COACH
POSITIVELY LEADERS INTERN
Crystal Pantelas-Hemmers
VOCAL & ACTING COACH
Kyleigh McAloon
MEDIA COACH
Mikael Johnson
ADVISORY BOARD
PE & FITNESS COACH
Chi Lam
POSITIVELY LEADERS COACH