Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Cherrelyn Napue brings Arts Together a wealth of experience in development, executive leadership and nonprofit management. Her background includes the arts, education and alumni relations at the university level. Prior to joining Arts Together, Cherrelyn served as Director of Alumni Engagement for Up with People, an international “gap year” touring performance program for young adults. She has also held previous roles at Up with People, including as a performer herself. In addition, Cherrelyn taught at Metropolitan State University of Denver as an affiliate professor in the nonprofit management program, school of professional studies. Known as an entrepreneurial leader and community advocate, she has received numerous acknowledgements and awards for her leadership, including Woman of the Millennium by the Colorado Black Round Table and the Salute to Black Women Award. Cherrelyn holds a BS in Nonprofit Organizational Administration from MSU Denver and a Masters of Nonprofit Management from Regis University. Passionate about social justice, she enjoys singing, traveling, serving the community, experimenting in the kitchen and spending time with her husband and teenage son.

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Kathryn Auman’s love for dance began with a weekly dance class at the age of four taught by her first dance teacher, Lemma Mackie. By age eight she was performing with the Rainbow Dance Company. She danced with Rainbow for ten years before attending Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was the recipient of the Frances Wessels scholarship and received a BFA in dance. Kathryn was a co-founder and performing member of Even Exchange Dance Theater and Black Box Dance Theatre and performed with both companies for many years all over North Carolina as well as three provinces in China.

Currently, Kathryn is the Director of Dance and the Rainbow Dance Co. at Arts Together. She also teaches dance to all ages at Arts Together. A bright spot in Kathryn's week, is teaching dance to the students at Dynamic Opportunities with her co-teacher, Karen Warr. Kathryn is constantly inspired by the creativity and passion that all of her students and peers possess. She is grateful for the opportunity to move, create, and collaborate with such amazing humans!

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Renée Boyette develops and implements Arts Together’s visual arts curriculum for students ranging from preschool to elementary school age. Additionally, she has led the visual art activities for Arts Together’s Arts After Dark, a multi-arts experience for adults. Renée has organized and led many interactive visual art projects at events throughout the Raleigh community including the Hillsborough Wide Open Celebration, NC Sports Day at the NC History Museum, family events at North Hills, Artsplosure and the Governor Morehead School. She has spearheaded the children's art activities for the SPARKcon festival and curated, in collaboration with Marbles Kids Museum, the Raleigh Historic Development Commissions’ children’s art contest. Renée pursued a BFA in Art Education with a concentration in painting from East Carolina University. She believes strongly in the importance and transformative power of the arts and considers herself an advocate for getting messy. Renée likes collage, encaustics and creating with clay, and in her spare time, she enjoys gardening and working on her historical home in Louisburg with her husband and beagle.

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Phillip Locke is an Early Childhood Education Professional. He has worked in this field for 27 years and has a heart for families. He is a graduate of Shaw University with a degree in Elementary Education; a Level III Director and holds a host of certifications and expertise in this field. Over his tenure, he has had many successes. One of his greatest accomplishments was achieved in 2011 when he became the winner of the T.E.D.D.Y Award presented by Smart Start and Childcare Resources Inc. of Mecklenburg County in the category of Center Director. That same year he became the proud adoptive father of one energetic and smart son. His philosophy on education is that all children can learn and have the desire to do so, if we remember that each child is an individual.

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Jess Allen has been in the performing arts industry for 20 years! She started as a dancer at the age of 2 and since then has had various roles in the performing arts. Jess attended Meredith College where she earned a B.A. in Dance Studies and a Minor in Music. While attending Meredith College, she was a Nu Delta Alpha member, a choreographer featured in the Danceworks gala, and a Meredith Dance Theatre dancer. Since then, she has served on the staff at various dance studios in the triangle. For the past 7 years, she has had arts administration experience with a focus on customer service, sales, operations, and business growth. She loves the arts and the transformative experience it brings to all. As the Operations and Program Manager, Jess oversees the day-to-day operations of our multi-arts programs and supports Arts Together’s mission and vision. She is excited to be apart of Arts Together and bring creativity, community, confidence, and collaboration in all we do. In her free time, Jess enjoys going to the beach and mountains with her husband and son, journaling and taking dance classes.

Get in touch with Jess!