STAFF & BOARD

STAFF

  • Joan is a second generation Filipino American and professional dancer who has been teaching dance in local schools with Dance Initiative since fall of 2023. She has performed with the Dallas Desperados, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, and Nike and has choreographed for 24 Hour Fitness, Lifetime Fitness, and University of Texas at Dallas Dance Team. Joan also comes with experience as a real estate agent/investor and has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.

    Joan is deeply engrained in the dance community up and down the Roaring Fork Valley, fostering an inclusive community where dance is celebrated not just as an art form but as the language of the soul. It is this universal language that transcends words and connects us all, regardless of our backgrounds or beliefs. Joan works closely with our vibrant community of artists, students, and supporters to amplify our impact. She ensures that Dance Initiative continues to inspire the boundless possibilities of dance and its power to unite, heal, and celebrate the human spirit.

  • Tamara Weir has been providing accounting services and expertise to businesses in the Roaring Fork Valley for over 43 years.

    Tammi is a team player with a strong sense of ethics and fairness. She enjoys reading and pursuing the outdoor lifestyle by walking and touring our beautiful country in her RV with her husband.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Dana is the Principal Architect with The Outpost Studio and a Movement Artist based in Carbondale, Colorado. She attended Mount Holyoke College in Western Massachusetts where she studied architecture, dance, physics, and critical art theory and earned a Master’s of Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. Dana trained with and performed with Brazz Dance Theater, an Afro-Brazilian Modern Dance Company, under the artistic direction of Augusto Soledade. Dana serves on the AIA National Board for Small Firm Exchange, is a Managing Member of CoMotion, and supporter of our local arts and farming organizations.

    Dana joined the Board of Dance Initiative as Chair in 2021 to give back to her community through dance and to help ensure the success of the nonprofit with her skills, expertise, and historical knowledge of the program and arts landscape of the Roaring Fork Valley.

  • Louisiana native and Boulder, Colorado transplant, Helanius J. Wilkins is a choreographer, performance artist, educator, and innovator. He is Associate Chair and a Professor of Dance at CU Boulder, member of the National Board of Directors of the American College Dance Association (ACDA) for the Northwest region, and was appointed in 2018 by Governor Jared Polis to the Colorado Council on Creative Industries.

    Wilkin’s creative research and projects are rooted in the interconnections of American contemporary performance, cultural history, and identities of Black men. His projects examine the raced dancing body and ways ritual can access knowledge. He uses remembering to piece together and liberate Black identity through performance. He founded and artistically directed D.C.-based EDGEWORKS Dance Theater, an all-male dance company predominantly of African American men that toured nationally and internationally (2001 - 2014). Wilkin’s membership to the Dance Initiative board is inspired by the organization’s multi-faceted mission and commitment to mobilizing community through the arts, particularly dance. https://www.helaniusj.com/

  • Lucy has been the Community Inclusion & Engagement Coordinator at Alpine Bank for 11 years. She moved to the United States from Cali-Valle del Cauca, Colombia. She feels fortunate to support communities and nonprofit organizations in the Roaring Fork Valley, Denver, Aurora, and Boulder. Lucy is a social worker, having graduated from Universidad Del Valle in Cali-Colombia and has been working in the sector for 42 years, starting in 1980 at the beginning with Foster Parent Plan International in Cali- Valle del Cauca.

    Lucy is the current president of the Rotary Club of the Roaring Fork and has worked with Rotary since 2012. She serves on several other local Boards and is proud proud to work with Dance Initiative as part of her commitment to improving the lives of residents in the Roaring Fork Valley. She resides in Glenwood Springs and travels often to work in Denver.

Board meetings are open to the public. To receive information about the next meeting, email Joan@DanceInitiative.org