The purpose of Dance/NYC’s Board is to exercise fiduciary and strategic oversight of Dance/NYC in furtherance of its mission; to provide effective representation in the wider nonprofit, public and private sectors; and to actively contribute to the development of Dance/NYC’s financial and human resources.
The Board of Directors has a series of committees which include the Committee on Trustees, the Finance and Audit Committee, and the Legal Committee.
Dance/NYC values justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity at all levels of its organization, including its Board, committees, task forces, and staff. Diversity in this context refers to groups and individuals identified by, for instance, race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, status, religion, national origin, marital or partnership status, ancestry, political belief or activity, or status as a veteran. To foster the values of justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity, Dance/NYC seeks participation on its Board, committees, task forces, and staff from individuals who share and hold these values and reflect the diversity of the metropolitan New York City area, with a focus on majority African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) participation and disability and immigrant representation. According to 2020 Census data, the New York City population is approximately 69% ALAANA. Census Data from the 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates suggests that the New York City population is 11% disabled, and 37% foreign-born. For a full overview of Dance/NYC’s values on justice, equity, and inclusion and the agendas that inform this work, please refer to Dance.NYC/equity/values.
As of January 2024, Dance/NYC’s board of directors has 8/13 ALAANA membership and includes immigrant and disability representation.
If you are interested in joining Dance/NYC's Board, please write to Co-Executive Director Vicki Capote at vcapote@dance.nyc.
If you would like to contact Dance/NYC's Board, please write to board@dance.nyc.
Since its inception, I have been honored to be Chair of the Board of Directors of Dance/NYC. A long-standing New York Super Lawyer, I have a wide range of experience in corporate, copyright, and trademark law, with clients that/who encompass a large spectrum of the business and entertainment world, including established and new ventures, individuals, creators, and both for-profit and not-for-profit entities. I have extensive experience with contracts, licensing, digital issues, Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Intellectual Property, and all aspects of running a business. I optimize legal and business affairs for individuals, startups, and businesses of all sizes.
My goal as an attorney is to help resolve your legal and business affairs issues, enabling you to do what it is that you do best; running and growing your business/brand, acquiring deals and investors, creating and acquiring commissions, and moving forward.
My approach is to listen carefully to you to determine how we can best work together in order to accomplish your needs. I advocate and negotiate on your behalf and make sure that all of your questions and issues are properly addressed.
I take a “bird’s eye” view of your situation and work to address your legal needs. In addition, I often act as a sounding board for non-legal issues, especially those that are crucial to big-picture decisions. My focus is on you as a whole, rather than as a single legal issue.
Dominique Hugg, Co-Treasurer, Finance and Audit Committee Co-Chair
Kathrin Heitmann, Co-Treasurer, Finance and Audit Committee Co-Chair
Moody's Investors Service
Kathrin Heitmann is a Vice President-Senior Analyst at Moody’s Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Team based in New York. Kathrin has extensive experience working across different jurisdictions and departments with previous assignments focused on corporations, regional governments, and non-profits in Canada and in Europe. Kathrin is a certified Financial Risk Manager and a CFA Charterholder. She studied business administration at UAM University in Madrid, Spain and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.
Outside her regular endeavors, she finds balance in climbing and all forms of movement.
As an immigrant Kathrin is passionate about social justice, cultural diversity and advancing dance and is importance as an art form to culture, wellness and our community. People come together to dance.
Michael Cataliotti, Esq. is the Principal at Cataliotti Law P.C., a boutique immigration law practice working with international artists, entertainers, athletes, entrepreneurs, scientists, researchers, academics, executives, and more, across a variety of industries and disciplines, ranging from television, film, fashion, and finance, to AI/ML, sciences, journalism, architecture, and everything in between. He has worked with and advised businesses from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, as well as prominent athletes, artists, entertainers, and entrepreneurs and international media conglomerates.
Michael is a faculty member at Lawline CLE, has led town halls, workshops, and Q&A sessions at Harvard University, Columbia University, NYU, Juilliard, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), and the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA), among others, and is a regular contributor to the New York State Bar Association's Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal (EASL), where he writes a column on the topics of sports and entertainment immigration.
Additionally, Michael is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), where he is an active participant on several committees, including the Board of Publications as a peer reviewer. Michael has also been recognized as one of Super Lawyers' "Rising Stars" since 2018, and in 2023 was named one of "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch" in the field of Immigration.
Brandi Glover is the senior program officer for the arts at the Doris Duke Foundation and works with staff to plan, implement, review and evaluate the arts program's grantmaking goals and strategies. Prior to joining the foundation in 2018, she helped manage arts grantmaking for Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Before working in philanthropy, Brandi was a journalist covering small business news and trends. Brandi graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and African & African American studies. A native New Yorker, Brandi's interest in the arts is rooted in her background in dance. After training at the School of American Ballet, the Ailey School and Dance Theatre of Harlem, she performed with the New York City-based modern company Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company. In addition to Dance/NYC, she currently sits on the board of DCL, Inc., a literary nonprofit started by her great-great-grandfather Dr. Aaron Moore and focused on elevating the stories and achievements of the African American community.
Chris Bastardi is co-founder of BARO Strategies. From infrastructure, manufacturing, and development to healthcare, gaming, and more, Chris has spent the past two decades leading or joining some of the most consequential public affairs campaigns in New York and across the nation. He has also managed electoral campaigns for both Republican and Democratic candidates at the federal, state, and local level.
His experience includes seeing clients through crises such as active shooter situations, corporate malfeasance cases, product recalls, and criminal and civil court proceedings.
Prior to establishing BARO Strategies, Chris headed the Public Affairs & Crisis practice at Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis. There, he oversaw both proactive and reactive crisis efforts for corporations, organizations, and individuals, including politicians, celebrities, executives, and activists. While at Edelman, Chris founded and led the real estate team at the firm’s New York office.
Earlier in his career, Chris served as Director of Public Affairs and Communications for New York State Senator and Health Committee Chair Kemp Hannon (R). In that role, he supported efforts to enact statewide health policies, responded to a MRSA outbreak, and managed New York’s transition away from hospitals and toward urgent care facilities.
Chris earned his B.A. from Fordham University and his M.A. from New York University. He serves on the board of Dance/NYC and as a member of the New York City Youth Board.
After graduating from Cornell, Deborah spent 40+ years in financial services, including commercial banking, real estate finance, consumer banking, and risk management. She held several senior management positions over the years, leading both small and large teams retired in 2014 as a Managing Director and Senior Risk Manager.
Deborah reconnected with her alma mater when she was asked to join the President’s Council of Cornell Women, where she served as Chair as well as the Human Ecology Dean’s Leadership Council, where she also served as Chair. She was a Vice Chair of the Cornell University Council and President of the Cornell Club of the Berkshires, and participated on the Cornell Alumni Trustee Nominating Committee. She was honored by Cornell to receive the Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award.
As an arts patron, Deborah has had the opportunity to support many arts organizations over the years especially dance companies and choreographers. She has often focused her attention toward female choreographers, who often don’t receive the level of resources they need to create new work. She currently serves as a Board Member of Dance/NYC, as well as a Board Member and Treasurer of New Chamber Ballet.
Since retirement, Deborah has been able to travel extensively and enjoys attending dance, music, and other arts performances. She considers it a privilege to have met so many wonderfully talented creators of art, dance, and music.
Gina M. Brown, M.D. joined the Medical Staff Affairs team at Gilead Sciences as a Principal Medical Scientist for the New York region. She provides HIV prevention education and strategic planning assistance for the development of prevention programs and investigator sponsored research.
Gina is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist with extensive experience in HIV clinical care and research. Before coming to Gilead, She was a Medical Officer in the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) where she developed the Annual NIH Strategic Plan for HIV research for non-vaccine biomedical prevention including PrEP, microbicides, and multipurpose prevention technologies; women's and girl's issues; and comorbidities. Gina also provided expert consultation to the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute HIV Clinical Guidelines Program.
Before joining the Office of AIDS Research, Gina was a member of the NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC) from 2000-2004 and chaired the Advisory Council in 2004. She also chaired the OAR women and girls and microbicides research working groups.
Gina is a graduate of Harvard University and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She received her Ob/Gyn training at Harlem Hospital Center and completed fellowships in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgical-Anesthesia Critical Care at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University.
Gina Brown became the third Gina on the Dance NYC Board of Directors in 2021. Dance has been a part of her life since early adolescence, supported her through college and medical school, and continues to feed her spirit.
Jina Paik is Director of Advisory Services at Nonprofit Finance Fund where she heads knowledge management and serves as a senior consultant to philanthropies, nonprofits, and boards on improving how money is accessed, managed, and deployed to serve our communities. Jina is a frequent partner of advocacy and capacity-building efforts that push for more equitable distribution of funding throughout all aspects of the social sector.
A lifelong New Yorker, Jina serves as board treasurer for DanceNYC, a grantmaking intermediary and service organization that promotes the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan New York City area. She sits on the Nonprofit Excellence Award selection committee at Nonprofit New York, and was honored by the New York City Human Services Council as a Next Generation Leader. She has contributed to publications such as the Nonprofit Quarterly, Crain’s New York, New York Nonprofit Press, and Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Social Currency blog. Closer to home, Jina serves on the board of her local Parent-Teacher-Organization to advocate for the small, Title I school and its diverse school community.
Jina’s earlier career supported grantmaking operations with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Helene Fuld Health Trust, and the TCC Group. She holds an MS in Urban Policy from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, where she earned the Joseph Kaplan award for Student Leadership, and a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jina lives in Long Island with her husband and two kids and plays in a blues band every Friday night.
Reshma serves on the board of Dance/NYC. She is a public finance expert with 20 years of experience working on infrastructure financings for state and local governments across the United States. She has structured over $40 billion of municipal bond issues. Reshma has additional work experience in micro-finance, private equity, data analytics and e-commerce.
Reshma's professional expertise is complemented by her extensive community leadership. She serves as Chair of the Manhattan Community Board 6 (CB6) budget committee and is a member of CB6 Environment and Parks Committee. Reshma is board co-chair of Chhaya Community Development Corporation which serves the Queen's neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill.
Reshma is an elected District Leader serving New York's 74th Assembly District Part D. In this capacity she works with local elected officials to address community issues and leads voter outreach efforts.
For nearly 20 years, Reshma has been a volunteer with Sakhi for South Asian Women spearheading the creation of a scholarship program for survivors of domestic violence and Sakhi's economic empowerment program. Reshma is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Shannon Zhu is Director and Senior Counsel at ViacomCBS. Her practice mainly focuses on cutting-edge digital media, marketing technology, and advertising transactions. She regularly counsels businesses on their deals and helps to strategically balance innovation with best practices. Prior to her current role, Shannon was in-house technology transactions, marketing, and privacy counsel at Equinox Holdings, Inc.
Outside of the office, Shannon is an active member of several bar associations and has held leadership positions in multiple organizations, including the IP Committee of AABANY, the Emerging Companies Committee of the NYCBA, and the Digital Media Section of the Entertainment Arts and Sports Law Committee of NYSBA. She participates in various philanthropic activities and is a youth mentor with iMentor.
Shannon is also an accomplished artist and dancer, having performed across national stages. You can regularly find her on tv and film production sets. In her spare time, Shannon takes dance classes, produces music videos, and creates mixed medium paintings.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, now local to Brooklyn, NY, operates between the spheres of dance, cultural production and fitness and wellness, with a focus on the Contemporary Caribbean. She has had an established career as a performer, choreographer, fitness professional, cultural producer, teaching artist, community facilitator and Caribbean dance specialist. In addition to her work in these areas, she leads ContempoCaribe, an ongoing choreography and performance project and is the founder of Dance Caribbean COLLECTIVE, an organisational platform for Caribbean dance in the diaspora that spearheads the New Traditions Festival in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Adelphi University's BFA program for Dance, and has presented, performed and taught at major venues including: Queen's Hall (T&T), John F. Kennedy Center, New York Live Arts, Brooklyn Museum, and The Ohio State University. She was an inaugural member of the Dancing While Black Fellowship Cohort 2015/2016, was an awardee of Adelphi University's 2017 - 10 Under 10 program, and a Dixon Place Artist-in-Residence for fall 2017. As a cultural producer and strategist, Candace has worked with the Dance and Performance Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, WIADCA (NY), Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, Renegade Performance Group, and curator Claire Tancons, for the 2019 Sharjah Biennial. Ms. Thompson-Zachery holds an M.A. in Performance Curation from the ICCP program at Wesleyan University and a certificate from the Executive Program in Arts & Culture Strategy at UPenn. with National Arts Strategies. Of tantamount importance to her is the vital role dance plays in our communities and she is eager to see dance artists of various styles, practices and traditions thrive in New York City.
Sara Roer (she/her/hers) hails from Waccamaw land colonially known as Wilmington, North Carolina and transplanted to Lenapehoking aka NYC in 2005 after asking to be left there on visits to grandparents for at least a decade. She currently identifies as an extroverted, non-disabled, cisgender, white queer femme.
Her "slash life" mosaic of activity has been driven by curiosity and a sense of adventure, with dance performance and arts administration as deeply rooted constants. In both the dance and administrative realms, Sara insists on collaboration for building sustainable, impactful, long term work. In this vein, she has stayed the course with Emily Berry/b3w Performance Group for over 20 years and Keith A Thompson/danceTactics Performance Group for over 16 years (earning a New York Times mention, "eloquent," in her inaugural season). She co-founded This Body collective with longtime friend and co-conspirator Diane Tomasi over 6 years ago. She has been training in and practicing traditional Thai Bodywork for over 16 years, starting with mentor Al Turner II. She was at artistic and administrative home BAX|Brooklyn Arts Exchange in various roles for over 14 years before stepping into this Director role with DanceNYC and looks forward to cultivating roots here for years to come.
Vicki Capote is a multidisciplinary artist and fundraiser committed to building a more accessible, equitable, and inclusive arts ecosystem. She was born and raised in New York City and has more than 15 years of experience as a singer, actor, and stage manager in the performing arts field. Vicki is passionate about utilizing art as a vehicle for social change, civic engagement, and self-actualization. Prior to joining Dance/NYC, she worked as the Development Manager at A Blade of Grass, where she advocated and secured resources for socially engaged artists nationwide. Vicki has also worked as the Director of Development & Communications at ARTs East New York, where she co-created initiatives for community-centered placemaking and emerging socially engaged artists.
She holds a B.A. in Arts Management and Applied Performance from Hampshire College and is an alum of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institutes' Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellowship. Outside of work, Vicki enjoys hiking, crafting, and drawing.
