èßäAV

Born in New Jersey, Ms. Quinn found her passion for the arts training in dance, classical piano, and clarinet before pursuing advanced study in dance performance. Her early interest in the arts, paired with a deep connection to her indigenous heritage, led her to her work as a dance educator, arts advocate and non-profit leader. For nearly two decades, she has focused her efforts in building community through dance and creating equitable access to the arts. Today, Ms. Quinn is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The VIVA School, a dance school in Washington, DC that prioritizes young dancers of color, merging world-class dance training with leadership development to cultivate the creative leaders of tomorrow. Ms. Quinn began her program development work with D.C. based CityDance, Inc. as the director of the organization’s flagship after-school dance program, CityDance DREAM. During her tenure, she oversaw the maturation and expansion of the program, grounding the work in holistic and responsive investment in creative youth development. In 2015, under her leadership, First Lady Michelle Obama awarded DREAM the prestigious President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities National Youth Program Award. In 2017, alongside long-time colleague Chandini Darby, Ms. Quinn co-founded The VIVA School, in realization of the vision for a brick and mortar pre-professional training school that would not only nurture young talent, but democratize dance education. In addition to her work with The VIVA School, Ms. Quinn is an active member of the D.C. arts community, where she serves on the Community Advisory Board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the DC Arts Education Alliance, which supports fair and equitable access to the arts for all students across the district, and the DC OST Coalition. Ms. Quinn now resides in Maryland with her husband and two children.