Boston Dance Alliance is delighted to welcome two new Board members, Portia Abernathy Brown and Jose Bueno!
Portia Abernathy Brown is Director of Operations at VSA Massachusetts, an affiliate of Seven Hills Foundation, which promotes the involvement of people of all abilities in the cultural life of our communities. She was Assistant Director for Education and Community Initiatives at Boston Ballet where she directed programming that provided accessible and inclusive dance education to 3,000 students in the Boston area each year and offered trainings and professional development opportunities to educators and service providers. Portia earned her Master of Education in Prevention Science and Practice from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Colorado and graduated cum laude from Colorado College. She is a member of the Berkley Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs advisory board, is the Primary Consultant for United Dance, and was a finalist for the 2017 Massachusetts Non-Profit Network Young Professional Excellence Award.
José is a former professional dancer with Zenon Dance and Black Label Movement who is working on his Master’s in Art and Cultural Leadership at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. A former swim champion and coach, he has also worked for the Minnesota Orchestra and with cosmetics companies L’Occitane En Provence and Estée Lauder. His past volunteer service has spanned organizations ranging from the City of Boston Veterans Services to American Cancer Society. José works as a mortgage loan originator for Fairway Independent in Back Bay.
We are also grateful to Marsha Parrilla, who has been the Artist Representative on the Board, and Aysha Upchurch, who are stepping into new roles as members of our Artist Advisory panel.