DIAL 2021: Hello to Our Hosts!

We have just a few short weeks until our 2021 Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) interns join Metro Arts and Nashville arts and culture organizations for their summer placements.

As we count down the days until their internships begin, we've shared the interns' announcement and we've thanked the 2021 DIAL Nashville Mentors. Today, we're taking an opportunity to thank and highlight our hosts, leaders at five Nashville cultural institutions.

Ali Tonn, Senior Director of Education and Public Programs

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Ali Tonn directs educational programming for the Museum, including all content developed and provided in the Museum’s Taylor Swift Education Center. Since Tonn joined the Museum staff in 2005, participation in the Museum’s education programs has increased by more 350%. In 2019, the Museum served more than 100,000 individuals through 1,400+ unique programs. Prior to her Museum service, Tonn was a member of the education departments of the Madison Civic Center in Wisconsin, Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School. She holds a B.A. in Music and History from the University of Kansas and an M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ali will host DIAL Intern Grace Kim, who will work as the Museum's School Programs Intern, focusing on Education and Public Programs.

Briona Richardson, Community Engagement Manager

Nashville Ballet

As the Community Engagement Manager, Briona Richardson is the face of Nashville Ballet throughout Middle Tennessee. A Nashville native, Briona began dancing at the Northwest YMCA at the age of 4. As part of the inaugural class at Pearl-Cohn Arts Magnet High School, she found her love of ballet and ended up graduating from The Ohio State University with a B.F.A. in Dance Education. Briona has studied at various dance programs such as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Hartford City Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. During college, she interned with BalletMet Columbus’s Outreach & Education program. After dancing professionally with contemporary companies in Washington DC and Columbus, OH her intrigue of the human body led her to become certified in STOTT Pilates. Now at Nashville Ballet Briona is a DEI Leader and gets to share her passion for dance with her hometown as well . A few fun facts about Briona: she loves to journal; she has been known to hop in her car and take off on last minute road trips; and finds joy in her roles as a wife, mother of three (2 boys and a girl) and new puppy Sax.

Working with Briona, DIAL Intern Chloé Little will serve as the Inside the Ballet Associate, working within the Ballet's Community Engagement, Marketing, Artistic and School departments.

Nathalie Lavine, Director of Education

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum

Nathalie Lavine (she/her) joined Cheekwood in 2016 as the Director of Education and Programs after more than five years of service at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where she shepherded the school programs department through a period of major growth. In her role at Cheekwood, Nathalie directs the development of art, garden and exhibition-related materials and programs, recruits and stewards relationships with community groups and programmatic partners, and leads long-range interpretive planning efforts.  She has overseen the expansion of Cheekwood’s outreach programs, including the creation of Destination Cheekwood, a family field trip program. In February 2020, she presented Cheekwood’s outreach efforts at the APGA Education Symposium in Austin, Texas. Nathalie recently finished a second term as the Chair of the Arts, Media, and Communications Partnership Council for the Academies of Nashville and also spent two years as Arts, Media, and Communications Chair for the MNPS Career Fair. 

A Nashville native, Nathalie holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from George Washington University and a B.A. in history from Haverford College. In addition to her work at the Country Museum Hall of Fame and Museum, she served as a curatorial associate at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington and led logistics for ZOOMA Women’s Race Series.

DIAL Intern Mikayla Gary will serve as the Education and Programs Research Intern with Nathalie's guidance.

Kimberly Kraft McLemore is a Nashville-based music educator, arts administrator, and arts advocate. Kimberly is currently in her third season with the Nashville Symphony where she serves as the Vice President of Education and Community Engagement. Prior to this role, Kimberly managed the Nashville Symphony’s nationally recognized Accelerando pathway initiative, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with the goal of preparing young musicians from diverse communities to enter the field of classical music.

Prior to joining the Education and Community Engagement team at the Nashville Symphony, Kimberly taught high school choral and theater arts in Metro Nashville Public Schools. She also served as a member of the Fine Arts Standards Writing Committee for the State of Tennessee Board of Education and an ensemble manager for the Tennessee Music Educators Association’s state conference. She is currently in her sixth year as the ensemble manager for the All-National Honor Ensemble for the National Association for Music Education National Conference. Kimberly earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the Pennsylvania State University. In addition to her continued work as a local freelance musician and teaching artist, Kimberly also enjoys baking and spending time with her husband and two children.

Paula Wilson, the Symphony's DIAL Intern, will work with Kimberly as the Community Assessment Intern, focusing on Education, Community Engagement, Communications and Marketing.

Rosie Forrest (she/her), Director of Community Engagement

OZ Arts Nashville

Rosie Forrest oversees educational and outreach partnerships between OZ and the Greater Nashville community. Combining a background in education with leadership positions in contemporary arts programming, Rosie has served as director for Vanderbilt Summer Academy, creative writing director for Interlochen Center for the Arts summer programs, and literary manager/dramaturg for various Chicago theatre institutions including Northlight Theatre and Steppenwolf Theater Company. Rosie is a member of the MNPS STEAM Advisory Committee, the National Guild for Community Arts Education, and holds an MFA from the University of New Hampshire. 

Rosie will lead DIAL Intern Maya Brown, who will serve as a Digital Engagement Assistant, working within the Artistic, Education and Marketing divisions of OZ Arts Nashville.

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Metro Arts thanks these hosts for their wisdom and leadership!

Stay tuned for updates on our DIAL interns' projects. DIAL is a partnership of Metro Arts Nashville, Americans for the Arts, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The 2021 cycle of the Diversity in Arts Leadership internship program is made possible thanks to the generous support of an anonymous donor, Con Edison, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and the Kutya Major Foundation.