JOHANNA DE LOS SANTOS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Prior to joining the ART START family as Executive Director in 2007, Johanna spent years revolutionizing the indie film industry’s release platform by pioneering the “Social Outreach Campaign” for two major motion picture film releases, Favela Rising (2005) and The Hip Hop Project (2007), taking conscious, independent film on nationwide tours through under-served communities, homeless shelters and juvenile detention facilities as a part of their distributor’s traditional release campaign.  From 2003-2005, Johanna served as Manager of Community Partnerships for the New York International Latino Film Festival and holds three years of corporate business planning expertise from the multinational Briggs & Stratton Corporation. Johanna received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin (1998) and a M.A. from New York University in Latin American Studies (2007) where she focused on art and music as a social movement in communities oppressed by systemic violence.  In 2010, Johanna was awarded “Non-Profiteer of the Year” by the New York Association of Non-Profit Professionals. Johanna’s pride lies in her journey from an at-risk teen to the woman she is today, in large part due to her parents who relentlessly inundated her with music, sewing, art, Shakespeare, and most importantly, the unconditional creative freedom to express herself – a gift she hopes to pass on to her own children.

HANNAH IMMERMAN, HOMELESS YOUTH OUTREACH PROGRAM DIRECTOR / VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

HANNAH is a visual artist, urban design graduate, and quite a crafty lady who was born to create with kids. She’s been a part of ART START workshops since 2001, starting as a volunteer, becoming the Volunteer Coordinator, and in addition, she is now be our busiest Teaching Artist for our Homeless Youth Outreach Programming, leading workshops four nights per week at two shelters in Manhattan. Hannah graduated from New York University in 2009 with a Bachelors degree in Architecture and Urban Design during which she studied for two years in Florence, Italy.

BILLY MARTIN AKA SPIRITCHILD, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, ONE MIC PROGRAM (YOUTH OFFENDER OUTREACH)

SPIRITCHILD is a freedom singer from the South Bronx by way of Brooklyn, who uses the arts to cultivate a cultural revolution. As the current Program Director for ART START’s One Mic music recording program, Spirit creates engaging hip hop curricula specifically to work with youth offenders. Previous experience in the field includes teaching hip hip curricula at Children’s Village Dobbs Ferry New York Juvenile Detention Facility. Also an instructor at several public schools throughout New York, Spiritchild also teaches on seasonal tours of Africa, South East Asia, and Europe. He has also produced for and recorded with Grammy-nominee Maya Azucena, the legendary Les Nubians, spoken word Nuyorican poets champion Ainsley Burrows, X-Vandals & Ricanstructions very own N4P, to name a few. As the founder of the Movement In Motion Artist & Activist Collective he integrates activism and hip hop music production, and is the rhythmic poet of the Hip Hop fusion band, Mental Notes.

CARLY “DELIGHT” DELUCA, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, THE EMERGING ARTIST IN RESIDENCY PROGRAM (EAR)

CARLY is a singer and performance artist from Brooklyn. In addition to being the Program Director for ART START‘s EAR program, she is also a teaching artist for ART START‘s Homeless Youth Outreach Programming.  Prior to this, she volunteered her time extensively at One Mic, mentoring our teens with creative writing, lyrical poetry, production, and recordings. She has been a part of various productions in collaboration with companies such as The Producers Club, Mirage Productions, Fernwood Resort Theater, BTAP, Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting NY, Circle in the Square NY, and The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). Delight attended New School University for Creative Art Therapy and Psychology and is now pursuing her Masters degree in Education. In addition to ART START, she currently works as a para-professional for the Department of Education, dedicating her time to work with emotionally-challenged and special education students by implementing her creative therapy skills.

JESSIE KILGUSS, DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT

Jessie is a Singer/Songwriter and a former actress with a BFA from NYU and a 2 year Post-Graduate Diploma from the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She has worked in film production, as a Teaching Artist with Arts for All, as an actress in feature film and the West End in London, and has interned in Development at HERE Arts Center and BAM. Passionate about ART START’s mission, she has been volunteering in ART START workshops with the kids for three years, and is excited to now have an active role behind the scenes at ART START as the Development Assistant.