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.
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.
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.
Alexandra Tiscareno is a plus-sized dance artist based out of Oakland, California. Originally from Fresno, California, Alexandra began her dancing career in 2012 before moving to the Bay. While living in the Bay Area, Alexandra obtained her BA from Mills College in Dance and Digital Performance. She is currently finishing her MFA in Dance as a Creative Practice here at Saint Mary’s College of California. Alexandra has also had the privilege to work with companies such as Robert Moses Kin and Alonzo King Lines Ballet on the administration side of the art form. Alexandra strongly advocates for deconstructing anti-fat practices and beliefs in dance and fights for body inclusivity throughout dance spaces–believing every BODY can dance, no matter size or shape.
Kat (she/her) is an administrator, dance instructor, consultant, and body liberation activist based in Oakland, CA. Kat has trained for 30+ years in various dance styles and performed with dance companies in Alabama, South Carolina, and the Bay Area. Before joining Dancers’ Group, Kat worked for 10 years as a program administrator & evaluation manager at the University of California San Francisco’s Bixby Center for Reproductive Health, and she continues to be passionate about reproductive health access.
As a dance instructor at Hipline in Oakland, she taps into the side of dance that is joy, catharsis, embodiment, and empowerment. As a Body Empowerment Consultant, Kat trains instructors and staff how to host a fat-positive, trauma & eating disorder-aware, and empowering movement space for bodies of all shapes/sizes. Kat also teaches a monthly dance class for fat and plus-size dancers called Big Thick Energy, and she loves to host fat-positive community events in the Bay Area.
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.
2023 Board Members
Mary Armentrout
Secretary; Artistic Director, Mary Armentrout Dance Theater
Leah Curran
Treasurer; 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
President; Software Engineer, Google; Dancer, Abhinaya Dance Company
Wayne Hazzard, ex officio
Vice President; Executive Director, Dancers’ Group
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
