Jill LeCesne Potter – Director of Education
Jill LeCesne Potter has a diverse and proven background in arts education, program management and promotions. In 2004, she joined Urban Gateways as a program coordinator; supporting such programs as the PEN/Faulkner Writers-in-Schools Program, Musical Instrument Bank Program and the Art Options program. Currently, she is responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating all school-hour based educational programs, as well as managing the artist-in-residence and performance programs. Her previous professional experience has included the Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, The Richard Thomas Art Gallery, The New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network and Citadel Broadcasting Corporation. Jill received her B.A. in Art History from the University of New Orleans.
Britton Bertran – Educational Programs Manager
Britton Bertran is also a Chicago-based independent curator and Instructor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Arts Administration and Policy Department. Britton formerly owned 40000, a commercial contemporary art gallery in the West Loop, was the Individual Artist Award Coordinator for the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and was the Artist Story Editor for Chicago Artists Resource, managed by the City of Chicago’s Cultural Affairs Department. Recent curatorial projects include Buttress, Buttress at mini dutch, Bob Linder at He Said, She Said and Artists Run Chicago at the Hyde Park Art Center (co-curated with Allison Peters Quinn), and New Icon at the Loyola University Museum of Art. Bertranprojects.com is an aggregated photo-based weblog documenting various projects, art openings and wanderings throughout Chicago. Britton has been overseeing the Cultural Education Program for the last two years and actively works with the teaching artists in establishing professional development sessions with participating teachers, the school arts liaison and the school administration.
Scott Boscapomi – Community Programs Manager
Scott Boscapomi, Community Programs Manager, earned his B.A. in Psychology from DePaul University in 1999. After graduation, he signed up for two years of service in Americorps NCCC serving his first year based out of Charleston, SC. His second year, he served as a team leader based out of Perry Point, M.D. During his 2 years with Americorps, Scott worked with Habitat for Humanity, The American Red Cross, National Parks and Forestry Services, YMCA’s, and various other service programs. He earned the 2001 Team Leader of the year award for the Northeast Region. Scott has spent the past ten years designing, developing, and implementing after school programs at the Middle School and Elementary level. These programs not only focused on academics and recreation, they also involved social skills and whole-person development.
Albert Cooper – Program Sales and Community Partnerships Manager
Albert Cooper directs and coordinates all program sales at Urban Gateways. He is also Urban Gateways’ community advocate, and he directs and oversees extended community engagement. Albert graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago with a Master of Business Administration in Finance and has served the nonprofit sector for several years in various capacities.
Tarah Ortiz Durnbaugh – Performance Programs Coordinator
Tarah Ortiz Durnbaugh has been working with Urban Gateways since 2007. Her arts background spans many disciplines, including over a decade of dance training and a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre from Northwestern University. Her passion for the arts and education continue to grow as an instructor and choreographer for the Kaleidoscope Dance Ensemble; ensemble member, choreographer, and educational consultant for rhythmic performance ensemble Be the Groove; and performing apprentice with the Joel Hall Dancers. Tarah’s work with Urban Gateways includes coordinating the Touring and Matinee performances from design and implementation to evaluation with the goal of bringing the best arts experiences to students across the Chicagoland area.
Carrie Rosales – Documentation Manager
Carrie Rosales oversees the development, distribution, and frequency scheduling of all programmatic outcome markers and student assessment tools. Carrie holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State University and is currently working towards an Education Research Methodology Certificate from UIC. Professionally, she pursued acting in New York and later moved to Spain and focused on utilizing theatre as a resource in the language classroom. There she implemented teacher training programs, summer language schools and touring performances, all designed to utilize theatre as a means to enhance language learning and promote cultural understanding. Drawing from her experience in curriculum development and assessment in language acquisition, she has been working with Urban Gateways for 4 years utilizing assessment and evaluation to guide program development.