Staff Bios

Class Acts Arts Staff

Joan Burns, Executive Director

As Class Acts Arts' Associate Director from 1996-2005, Joan helped shape the organization's mission and scope of educational and community arts outreach activities. Previous work experience includes ten years as a national account executive with J. Walter Thompson Advertising and as a researcher for the Department of Educational Accountability for Montgomery County Public Schools. She has served on cultural arts committees and panels at local, county and regional levels, including the Arts-In-Education Committee of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. Joan served as President of White Oak Middle School PTA and Jackson Road Elementary School PTA, volunteered as Cultural Arts coordinator in her children's schools for 15 years, and chaired the Cultural Arts Committee of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs. She is a 2006 graduate of the Montgomery College/Carl M. Freeman Foundation's Nonprofit Leadership Institute and is a member of the Leadership Montgomery Class of 2007. She holds a BA from Colgate University.

Laura diCurcio, Arts Outreach Coordinator

Laura joined Class Acts Arts in January 2008, bringing her experience and skills from her freelance work as the Creative Director/Designer of Mango Designs, creating marketing materials, a children's guidebook, signage and advertising for many local clients. Her background includes positions as Senior Art Director/Designer for full-service advertising agencies including The Bomstein Agency and Greenfield/Belser Ltd., in Washington, D.C. and is the recipient of numerous awards. She also serves as a cultural arts committee volunteer in her daughter's school. She holds a BFA from Boston University and is pleased to be currently involved in arts advocacy work.

Susan Fox, Arts Outreach Coordinator

Susan has a professional background in retail management with Imaginarium stores. As a community volunteer, she has served as a Brownie Troop leader, a tutor with the Literacy Council of Montgomery County, a food shopper for the Chase Men's Homeless Shelter, and is in her 5th year as chair of the Cultural Arts committee for the Cold Spring Elementary School PTA. Susan joined Class Acts Arts in September 2007. She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in marketing from Columbia University.

Sabeth Jackson, Project Youth ArtReach Manager

Sabeth joined Class Acts Arts in December, 2008. Previous work experience has included art education at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Administrative and Social Services positions. Sabeth has a Bachelor of Arts in Fine and Performing Arts from Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Paco José Madden, Development Director

Paco joined Class Acts Arts in February, 2010. Paco has worked in theater and arts education for over seven years. Previously, Paco was employed as the Director of Development at Washington Shakespeare Company (WSC) in Arlington, VA, where he managed grants, fundraisers, and special events. He has also worked as the Program Associate at Young Playwrights Theater (YPT) in Washington, DC and as the Program Director at Inside Out Community Arts (IOCA) in Venice, CA. He managed a six figure grant from the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation while at YPT and wrote grants and reports for the NEA, Meyer, Cafritz and other funders. In his free time, Paco is a playwright and dramatist. He has had his work presented in venues across the country and received grants and won awards from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. His play, Pioneer on the Trail of Tears, is published by Brooklyn Publishers.

Lynn Perlik, Executive Assistant

Prior to joining the Class Acts Arts staff in 2003, Lynn worked as a counselor of adults with developmental disabilities for the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. Lynn also mentored teen parents and tutored elementary students in language arts in Prince George's County. She studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. and at the Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham Schools of Dance in New York, and performs with the Jezic Community Choir.
Lynn holds a BA in Psychology from George Washington University.

JR Russ, Arts Outreach Assistant

JR joined Class Acts Arts in August of 2010. Born and raised in Washington, DC, he has worked at Discovery Theater for the Class Acts Arts tours of Going the Distance, as Assistant Choreographer/Director, and African Roots, Latino Soul, as Touring Manager. Other experience includes serving as a grant panelist for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and teaching at CityDance and Joy of Motion. JR holds a B.A. in Dance from the University of Maryland, and an M.A. in Arts Management from American University.

Claire Schwadron, Project Youth ArtReach Director

Claire facilitates arts programs for teenagers in at-risk communities and incarcerated youth in DC area correctional and detention settings. Project Youth ArtReach programs include visual arts, literary arts, dance, music and storytelling. Claire taught art and photography in high schools before becoming professionally involved in arts administration and youth outreach. She holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Sarah Wallace, Financial Manager

Sarah has over twelve years of experience in both 'for profit' and 'non profit' organizations, including supervising accounts payable at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. She is working on an Accounting degree at UMUC.

Liz Wheeler, Arts Outreach Director

Liz joined Class Acts Arts in October, 2006. She is a retired teacher from the Family Education/Early Intervention Dept. of the Maryland School for the Deaf. She is a past PTA cultural arts chair. Liz currently volunteers as the Vice President, Administration of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs, the Vice President of the Richard Montgomery High School PTSA and is an active member of the Montgomery District of the National Capital Area Council of Boy Scouts of America. She holds a BA in English and a M.Ed in Education of the Deaf from Western Maryland College.