Quienes somos
Dan Gordon - Executive Director
From growing up with a traveling anthropologist father and a mother devoted to performing arts and special education, Dan has naturally developed a passion for performing arts education and created Gordon Education Initiatives for the Performing Arts to produce educational media for kids with a focus on varying cultural expressions.
As an educator, Dan has taught performing arts and film classes for youth of all ages and demographics since 2002 in Houston, Los Angeles and New York City. He has taught in professional theatres, schools, museums, camps, juvenile probation departments and community centers. As a filmmaker, his documentaries focus on cultural arts communities and bridging divides.
Dan is a graduate of Meadows School of the Arts at SMU where he received his BFA in theatre and he continued to complete a film certification program from CUNY's College of Technology and Brooklyn College.
Kathy Starr - General Manager
Kathy is the General Manager of Gordon Education Initiatives for the Performing Arts and manages day-to-day operations, bookkeeping, strategic planning, and community relationships.
As a life-long child advocate, Kathy studied early childhood education at the University of Houston and served multi-year terms as the chairperson on boards throughout Houston that championed arts education and kids with disabilities. Some of her favorite positions include 7 years as Cultural Arts Chair at Haude Elementary in Klein ISD, 4 years on the board of Class Act Productions and 4 years on the Klein Oak High School Theatre Booster Club. She managed accounts in publicity, events, bookkeeping and development.
She is a long-time volunteer for The River Performing and Visual Arts in partnership with Theatre Under the Stars where she facilitates weekly art projects for kids with special needs. Previously, Kathy owned and operated a business to assign care providers for the elderly, ensuring a safe environment and allowing them to stay in their own homes. Texas born and bred, Kathy is married and the mother of two daughters, Morgan and Maitland.
Executive Board Members
Krista Calaway
Former Exec. Director of HISD Foundation
Dan J. Gordon
Exec. Director of Gordon Educatio
Matt Heath
Community Ventures
Cindy Leong-Wu
Biomedical Consulting
Juliet McBride
Partner in King & Spalding’s Government & Regulatory (Healthcare) Practice Group
Ruby Wadhwa
Houston Dwell
Former Board Members:
Jason Bernal, Kristen Golden, Victor Kendall
Meet Our Teachers
Nuestro equipo
Executive Producer of Take The Stage
Carol-Lynn Parente
As an accomplished producer, winning 15 Emmy awards for her work as Executive Producer of Sesame Street and Hero Elementary, Carol-Lynn edits every Take the Stage educational script, advises on curriculum content, and helps strategically plan for the future.
Partner
Houston Public Media
Houston's home for educational TV (PBS) and radio content (NPR) partners with Gordon Education to produce Take the Stage content. Houston Public Media has provided a TV studio to film, a production crew, and post-production services so Take the Stage maintains its quality standards and community reach.
Partner
Kids Advisory Board
This board decides which content passes the kid-test before it is filmed and used by thousands of classrooms. They answer the questions: "Is it cool enough?" and "Will other kids like it?" . They makes important decisions, read every Take the Stage script, provide edits and feedback regarding content, humor and music in each episode.
Partner
HoustonISD
The Houston Independent School District selects the curriculum where students need the most supplemental support. Take the Stage content is then selected based on these academic recommendations and reviewed by HISD Curriculum Managers so they can modify the lessons to meet the district's standards.
Partner
Children's Museum
The Children's Museum is the perfect venue for all Take the Stage events, meetings, and premieres. Situated in the museum district of Houston, this interactive museum provides a safe, fun, and educational environment for families to experience Take the Stage programs.
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Partner
Houston Ballet
The Houston ballet partnered with Gordon Education to produce a "how-to" ballet series featuring the Take the Stage Kids with the mission to promote ballet to boys and girls alike. This series featured all-star athletes in basketball and football dancing with professional dancer, Andrew Murphy.
Partner
Public Relations Internships for University Students
Students from the the Valenti School of Communications at the University of Houston and the department at Texas Southern University spend a semester working on various media projects for the nonprofit to achieve higher visibility and greater impact in the community
Partner
Spanish Curriculum Specialists
Gladys Gutierrez-Barba is the Spanish language specialist at HISD that translates all of the Take the Stage media and lesson plans into Spanish before ithey are filmed. Creating bilingual media helps provide equity in the schools where many students are needing materials in Spanish.