Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlon Torres.
Hi Marlon, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
NC AIA was established in 2005 by a philanthropist as an associate of the National Dance Institute (NDI) NY. NC AIA began with a pilot program at Rashkis Elementary School in Chapel Hill in cooperation with school namesakes Mel and Zora Rashkis, and the next year (2006-07), with additional funding from the Mary Duke Biddle and Mary D.B.T. Semans Foundations, expanded to a 9-month residency for the 4th grade and a month-long residency for the 5th-grade classes.
In 2007-2008, NC AIA continued its programs at Rashkis, added a full-year program at Fayetteville Street Elementary in Durham with support from several foundations and private donations, and a second month-long residency in Chapel Hill at Frank Porter Graham Elementary. In 2010-11, NC AIA added Eastway and Mangum Elementary Schools to the roster, with additional funding support from GlaxoSmithKline. In late 2010, NC AIA was chosen by McKinney of Durham to be the partner and recipient of proceeds raised from the co-produced 2011 Triangle Corporate Battle of the Bands, held in September 2011.
NC AIA used the proceeds of Battle of the Bands for operating expenses and to expand into another at-risk Durham public school, Holt Elementary. In 2014, NC AIA introduced the program in Wake County at Wakelon and Knightdale Elementary Schools. In 2019, we celebrated 14 years of continued programming at Rashkis, eight years at Holt, five years at Wakelon and Knightdale, four years at Millbrook, York, Lake Myra and Pittsboro, three years at Rolesville and Baileywick, two years at Green and Rogers Lane, and our first year at Lakewood. By the end of the 2022 school year, we will have reached 22 schools and more than 1800 children this year through direct dance instruction with live music.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If the work were easy, it would not be interesting. However, although we have faced a lot of steep hills along the way, we have managed to achieve many of our goals.
We rely heavily on great instructors for the success of the program, and on building long-lasting funding relationships to sustain the organization. Balancing and leveraging these two parts of our equation is not easy. It requires consistency, motivation, strategy and a deep belief in the mission of the program, which is to empower children in elementary schools statewide through dance and live music programs accessible to all students regardless of abilities and socio-economic status.
As we continue to grow as an organization, we have realized the importance of strategic planning and making sure we have contingency plans for changes in our organizational leadership, staff, loss of major funders, and pandemics. This year, we worked with an outside consultant to complete the strategic planning process and finalize a plan for unforeseen events.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As Executive Director of North Carolina Arts in Action (NC AIA), I lead an innovative education program that uses dance and lives music as vehicles to help children in elementary schools reach their full potential. More than just a dance education program, NC AIA motivates children to believe in themselves, provides an environment with professional expectations, and the nurturing and encouragement to develop a personal standard of excellence in students. I am a highly motivated bilingual and multicultural arts executive who is able to leverage my creative and business backgrounds to build communities through the support and advocacy of the arts.
My career began as a principal dancer in Mini Pops – a highly-rated Venezuelan televised dance ensemble featuring child performers, which enchanted millions of loyal viewers in Venezuela and the Caribbean. As a principal dancer and vice-president of Galumpha, I created and performed award-winning choreography showcased around the world, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, FL, California’s Napa Valley Opera House, Finland’s Jyväskylä Festival, the ARTE Television network in Germany and the Singapore Arts Festival. In December of 2013, I proudly became a naturalized American Citizen through the EB-1 eligibility category, which is intended for foreign nationals who have demonstrated extraordinary abilities in their fields of expertise, including the performing arts.
My work as a Planner, Trainer, and Developer of Project Management Concepts through Body Movement received the 2014 Platinum Award from the NC Project Management Institute. In June 2016, the Certified Association Executive (CAE) Commission of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) conferred on me the CAE designation, the highest professional credential in the association industry.
In July of 2017, I was accepted into the Downton Durham Rotary Innovation Fellowship program. The program is designed to provide an exceptional leadership development experience for high-impact innovators in the community striving to make measurable, sustainable, and scalable impacts in their respective fields. In addition to my CAE, I am a certified project management professional (PMP), with an MBA in marketing from the University of Leicester in the UK and a B.A. in theatre and dance from Binghamton University. I was the recipient of the Diamante Latino Award 2017, and the 2018 winner of the Triangle Business Journal 40 under 40 Award, and the Triangle Business Journal Leaders in Diversity Award.
I am proud to share that for the past two years, I have been working on a wonderful book with my talented colleagues Delal Makansi and Lilly Khairallah titled “Lights, Camera, Project Management: WOW! your middle school students with a video-based curriculum”
It is a comprehensive curriculum guide that provides instructors with every tool they’ll need to launch and run an apprenticeship in project management. The use of movement is one of the innovative hooks used to enhance learning. We’ll be announcing the final publication soon. All proceeds or donations collected from this book will go toward supporting the life-changing work of North Carolina Arts in Action. I want to thank my co-authors for joining me in supporting this important mission.
How do you think about happiness?
Everyday moments bring be happiness — time with family, reading a good book, being productive by crossing tasks off of my to-do list, connecting with friends — all these things add up to feeling joyful and fulfilled.
Pricing:
- The cost for sponsoring one child in our program is $320.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@ncartsinaction.org
- Website: www.ncartsinaction.org
- Instagram: @northcarolinaartsinaction
- Facebook: NCArtsinAction
- Twitter: @northcarolinaartsinaction
- Youtube: North Carolina Arts in Action
Image Credits
Karyn Hlad Marlon and Ken Demery Photography
