​Pilita Simpson - 2022 Women Inspiring Nevada Awardee

Founder and Chief Executive Officer  

The Founder of Ivy Dreamers and Positively Arts, Pilita Simpson, currently holds a Masters Degree in Arts in Education from Harvard University with a focus on Early Childhood Development and how arts instruction at an early age enhances cognition. Pilita has worked for such amazing companies as Sesame Street and Walt Disney before founding this 501(c)(3) nonprofit. She now knows that the best way to instruct 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. Learning through play and arts integration is a proven effective model for education and Pilita is currently partnering with The Innovation in Nevada Hub to create the pilot model for an arts-integrated new learning environment for older students as well. She is continuing her work to strengthen a child’s education and social-emotional health through her reinvented curriculum and design.

She has also 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. Continuing the work she started in Boston, she uses arts-integration models to enhance learning and raise student achievement, while using the arts to empower, inspire, educate and heal. On top of her arts and education background, Pilita is also 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. With two young children of her own, one attending Ivy Dreamers this year, 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.