Jonathan Shmidt Chapman is the Founding Artistic Director of Trusty Sidekick Theater Company in New York City, dedicated to creating bold and original theater for kids and families. In this role, he and the company have served as artists-in-residence at the Park Avenue Armory, Cleveland PlayhouseSquare and The New Victory Theater. As a director, he has developed new work for young people at The John F. Kennedy Center For the Performing Arts (New Visions New Voices 2012), La Jolla Playhouse (DNA Festival 2013) and Abrons Arts Center. Most recently, he directed the world premiere of Up and Away, a Lincoln Center commission for young people on the autism spectrum. Last year, Jonathan directed the world premiere of The Boy at the Edge of Everything by Finegan Kruckemeyer at Seattle Children's Theatre. In addition to his work with Trusty Sidekick, Jonathan is the Associate Director of Programming and Production at Lincoln Center Education. In this capacity, he is supporting the curation of LC Kids, a new initiative bringing family programming to Lincoln Center. He also currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at New York University's Steinhardt Program in Educational Theatre, where he teaches coursework on Theater for Young Audiences.

Karen Sharp is the Seattle Children’s Theatre Interim Managing Director. Karen has been a member of the SCT staff since 1999 and served as Education Director for many years. She honed her administrative skills teaching and coordinating arts education programs for over twenty years including several years as a drama specialist in a public elementary school. In addition Karen is an adjunct faculty member for the Seattle University MFA Arts Leadership program, Cornish College of the Arts and serves on the faculty of Bringing Theatre into the Classroom and Teaching Artist Training Lab. She has consulted with art schools and theater education departments across the country to help them implement best practices at their institutions and has been a guest lecture at many colleges and universities. Karen has presented at several local and national conferences including the 2011 and 2013 One Theatre World conferences, 2012 AATE Theatre in our Schools regional conference and the 2013 and 2015 AATE national conferences. Karen is the current Board President of both TYA/USA and The Winifred Ward Scholarship Foundation.

Diane Nutting is the Director of Access and Inclusion for Imagination Stage, where she works to provide accessible and inclusive performing arts experiences for students, patrons, and artists of all abilities. Previously, she served as the Director of Education for City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh), and as the Associate Director of Education for the New Victory Theater (NYC). She holds an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth from the University of Texas at Austin, and degrees in Deaf Studies and Theatre from Boston University. For over twenty years, she has taught, directed, and collaborated with K - Adult students and artists of all abilities, and has a wide range of experience in the areas of disability, access, and inclusion as they relate to the performing arts experience. Ms. Nutting has also served as a training consultant for both the Smithsonian Institution and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.