Staff + Board
Wayne is a native Californian and as a co-founder is proud to continue his work with the Bay Area dance community as the executive director of Dancers’ Group. Hazzard is a leader in the service field who is known for his work with fiscal sponsorship and on new program development; and he was acknowledged as a 2015 Gerbode Professional Development Fellow. Before his manifold career in arts management, Hazzard had a distinguished 20-year career performing with many notable choreographers and companies including the Joe Goode Performance Group, Margaret Jenkins Dance Co, Ed Mock & Co, June Watanabe, Emily Keeler, Aaron Osborne and more. Coinciding with his life as a dancer, Hazzard has and continues to work as an advocate for dance. For his unique artistic vision, Hazzard has received numerous awards, including an Isadora Duncan Award for his innovation, dedication, and contribution to the field of dance. And a Sangam Arts 2018 Mosaic America Impact Award. Hazzard has served as an advisor and panelist with such organizations as the Center for Cultural Innovation, DanceUSA, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs, and Dance Advance in Philadelphia.
Bay Area native, Andréa Spearman is an administrator, choreographer, performer, teacher, and student of a variety of modern-based movement with over 20 years of experience. Her company, A. Spearman & Co. is a contemporary fusion dance company where all artists are trained in various fields of art including ballet, jazz, hip hop, modern, cultural dance, photography, live vocals, poetry, acting, directing, production, and more.
Currently she produces and hosts, The Black Landscape podcast, a series of conversations that spotlight Black people doing significant work in the SF Bay Area communities in various industries including the arts, local government, local authors, the Peralta College system, labor unions, retail and costuming design, tech, and more!
A Bay Area native, Shellie Jew graduated from UCLA and attended the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program. As a dance artist, she has performed with Alameda Civic Ballet, dawsondancesf, eMotion Arts, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and ZiRu Dance.
Anna Gichan (she/her) is an east coast native living a bi-coastal dancer’s life between the Bay Area and NYC. She identifies as deaf/hoh, has a BFA from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, dances in a circus and freelances a lot! As part of the Dancers’ Group team, Anna works as an administrative assistant.
Danielle Vigil was born and raised in the Bay Area. Although she received her formal education in communication sciences and disorders, she has always had a passion for dance. She is a dancer, choreographer, and certified personal trainer, who has been teaching dance to kids and adults for over 15 years. She is now working in administration with Dancers’ Group and is looking forward to further serving the dance community.
This job posting will be announced soon – (3/13/23)
Julie Kanter has over 25 years of experience helping small and mid-sized arts organizations manage their institutional fundraising. An expert grant-writer, she works closely with her clients to develop compelling, comprehensive proposals for a wide range of regional and national funders and create long-term strategies for building and sustaining a diverse institutional fundraising base. Over the years, Julie’s list of long-term clients has included AfroSolo Theatre Company, Epiphany Dance Theater, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Liss Fain Dance, Living Jazz, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, CubaCaribe and more. A member of ODC/Dance during the ‘80s and ‘90s, Julie now spends her time in the water instead of a dance studio but feels fortunate to maintain a close connection to the Bay Area dance community through her work as Dancers’ Group’s institutional fundraising consultant.
2022 Board Members
Mary Armentrout
President; Artistic Director, Mary Armentrout Dance Theater
Gianna Bruno
Treasurer; Head of Student Success at Springboard
Leah Curran
Operations Coordinator at Can Do Education Foundation
And former Director of Operations at Oakland Ballet Company
Debby Kajiyama
Co-director, Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater
Rasika Kumar
Software Engineer, Google; Dancer, Abhinaya Dance Company
Dana Lawton
Secretary; Department Chair for Performing Arts, Saint Mary’s College; Artistic Director, Dana Lawton Dances
Wayne Hazzard, ex officio
Executive Director, Dancers’ Group
Heather Cooper
Dance Faculty
San Jose State University Choreographer-Performer
Rogelio Lopez
Artistic Director
Rogelio Lopez & Dancers
Dance Faculty
Saint Mary’s College
Advisory Board
Jose Maria Francos
Lighting Designer
Joanna Haigood
Artistic Director, ZACCHO Dance Theater
Keith Hennessy
Choreographer-performer-citizen, Circo Zero
Patricia Reedy
Founder and Director, Luna Dance Institute
Judy Smith
Founder, AXIS Dance Company
Ian Winters
Executive Director, Northern California Land Trust