CVPA faculty

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Elizabeth Spatz began her study of dance at the Ruth Page Foundation with Larry Long and the Chicago City Ballet with Maria Tallchief.

Susan Shields became the Director of the School of Dance again in June 2024. She is the recipient of the 2006 Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography, has created dances for numerous professional companies and universities.

Producer Lisa Thrasher is an entertainment lawyer and Producer with 20 years of experience in Hollywood.

Joseph Berardelli is Director of Finance & Administration of the Washington Drama Society, Inc. dba Arena Stage. He has his MBA in Business Administration from SUNY, Binghamton.

Dr. Mark Jenkins began his musical studies on the euphonium at the age of 11 in his home state of Nevada. During his early studies, he was awarded top honors at state, regional and international solo competitions, including the Nevada Governor’s Scholarship to attend the prestigious Interlochen Fine Arts Camp in Michigan and 1st prize at the 1996 Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Competition.

Bethany Thompson is a Master Electrician at the Center for the Arts at the College of VIsual and Performing Arts

Joseph Walsh has three decades of experience in preparing, presenting and conducting opera and musical theater in Virginia, across the U.S. and internationally. He is a conductor admired for his ability to combine dramatic flair and theatrical excitement with sensitivity, detail and a keen sense of dramatic pacing.

Amanda has been teaching college-level courses for 13 years in video editing, sound recording and mixing and post-production. 

Mary Lechter, (BA University of Maryland) is a graduate of University of Maryland, College Park with a BA in Theater and Speech Communications, Mary has been working professionally as an actor since 1985 in the Metropolitan Washington area, Los Angeles, and New York.

William Reeder's accomplishments include being the former dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts; vice president and general manager of the Washington Performing Arts Society; establishing the Sallie Mae Trust for Education at Sallie Mae; executive director of the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C.; president of the Saint Louis Conservatory of Music; executive director of Opera Music Theatre International; and the Newark Community School of the Arts.